Looks Can Be Deceiving
by team-this-isnt-twilight
Summary: With the looks of an angel and an innocent smile, Lacey is automatically counted out as the victor of the 33rd Hunger Games. They are judging her by her appearance, but will her past be enough to help her come out of the arena alive? Or will she be in a wooden coffin on the way back to her district when the victor is crowned? Rated T for a reason!
1. Your Gonna Go Far, Kid

**NOTE: I don't own the Hunger Games… though I would be sooo happy if I did. The characters are mine though! Also... I don't own the picture. The amazing picture that I am using as a cover photo is taken by Tanneke Peetoom... otherwise known as Tanneke Photography. :) **

**Oh wait! WARNING! This is rated T for a reason! I know… it's hard to believe. It isn't bad yet… but when the games come… or maybe a little before that, you will understand why it is Rated T. I think it might get dangerously close to M… since it might be too violent. I don't think it will though. If you think at anytime that it needs to be changed to M… please PM or review telling me so! Otherwise I will start scaring the random 10 year olds that read this… And disturb you all! So yeah… Thanks! **

**I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

"LACEY! WAKE UP ALREADY"

I snap my eyes open and look around. The colorful field I was in just moments ago (stupid dreams…) is now the dark room that I share with Mabel, my best friend. Her parents died 9 years ago in a forest fire, and even though my family is poor, we let her and her 4 older siblings move in with us. It was very crowded in our house. Our house only has three bedrooms, and there are 10 people living in it. Wait… were 10. The year Mabel's parents died, her older brother was reaped, and her oldest sister, who was 18, volunteered to save Rose, who was 12. They both died in the bloodbath that year, and soon only 8 people lived in our house. Three years later was the 1st quarter quell, and my brother and her older sister were both voted into the Hunger Games…which is odd because no one said that they voted for them … either way the odds weren't in their favors either, since they both drowned when they were trying to escape the careers. Suddenly only 6 people lived in our house. My mom died trying to give birth to Lyla, and my dad was killed for "rebellious acts" It's obvious at this point that they are trying to get rid of our family. Rose, Mabel's last sibling, killed herself the day of the reaping, just knowing that they would call her name, and they did. They quickly sorted it out and reaped someone else, who came out a victor. 3. My older sister is too old to be reaped, being 29, but I am now eligible to be reaped, and I just know that I will be called up onto the stage and put into an arena to die.

What they don't know is that I have trained. At night, when they all think I'm sleeping. I've been training since I was 7, the year my older brother died. I watched him get tortured by the careers, watched him manage to escape, only to drown a minute later. I've practice with every weapon I could get my hands on, climbed every tree I could. I've studied plants during the day and practiced first aid. On the days they make me work in the forests, I get to use an axe, though I pretend to be too weak to pick it up. The peacekeepers hate me, and they all smirk knowingly at me on the reaping day each year.

"-nd then she said that she saved up the money to get us bread! Hey! Were you even listening?" Mabel says.

"No. I honestly wasn't… Why did you wake me up?" I grumble, wiping my eyes so that everything doesn't look blurry.

"Oh… it's the reaping day. You need to get ready." She whispers sadly. She knows that I'm going to get reaped. She is 11, not yet eligible for the reapings, and my sister is too old for them, so that leaves me. I'm the only one eligible, and I need to be killed if the capitol wants our family gone. Sending a child to the Hunger games just makes it less suspicious.

"Right; I guess I have to get ready."

I swing my legs over the side of the bed and sit there for a moment, letting my feet dangle since they can't touch the ground. I stretch and then stand up and walk to the bathroom. I quickly scrub myself clean and rinse my hair. I then dry off and wrap the towel around myself, walking back into my room. When I enter, I notice that Mabel is looking in our closet (we both wear the same size clothes) and has a few dresses in her hand. As soon as I take two steps, she turns to face me, her ponytail falling out and letting her dark brown hair fall straight down her back.

"I already picked out my dress, but we need a dress for you! I was thinking either the light blue one, the pink one, or the white one. They all look so pretty on you! Actually… you should wear the light blue one or the white, they look better on you…. Oh and apparently your sister has your shoes…" She says excitedly, practically pushing the dresses into my hands "try them on already! We don't have all day!"

I nod, looking at the dresses she handed me. I instantly hand her the white one, since I just know that I'd get it dirty. I quickly pull the blue one over my head and walk over to the mirror, but not before doing a little twirl. When I saw myself in the mirror, I gasped, not quite recognizing the person I saw.

The girl I saw staring back at me had light blonde, some would even say platinum, hair that curled into ringlets that just reach her shoulders and are slightly more perfect than mine. The little amount of light in the room made it shine in a way that I didn't know hair could. The eyes that stared back at me were such a pale shade of blue with specks of gold in them. They were my eyes, but they were opened wide with awe, wider than my own eyes ever were. Her lips were a perfect shade of light pink and her skin was flawless and clean, not a speck of dirt in sight. She was short, 4'5 to be exact, and was skinny from being fed so little. She didn't look strong, but I knew she was. In any other clothes, I probably would have known she was me, but it was the dress, one I had never seen before, that made me question her.

The dress had short sleeves that were made of a light material and a square neckline. It was tight up top and flairs out at the waist, stopping just above the knees. Over top of the light material was a thin layer of lace that had a beautiful flower design on it. A white belt separated the upper and lower part, its simplicity only adding to the beauty of the dress.

"Mabel… Where did you get this dress? I've never seen it before." I asked, not taking my eyes off of the girl in the mirror in fear that she would disappear.

"Your sister put it in here this morning. I think it was your mom's first reaping dress…" She replies, whispering the last part. "Speaking of which, you need to go see Emma."

I nod, blinking away the tears that were threatening to fall as I turn away from the mirror and walk down the hall to my sister's room. I take a deep breath before lightly knocking on the door.

"Come In!" I hear, slightly muted.

I slowly open the door and see my sister finish putting up her dirty blonde hair. She turns to face me and smiles sadly, knowing that this could be one of the last times she ever sees me.

"You look so beautiful Lacey! I swear I wish I looked like you." She coos sweetly.

I run the fabric of the dress between my fingers and smile slightly. Everyone is jealous of my sister's wavy dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She is popular and everyone loves her, and yet she wants to look like _me. _

"You are just saying that," I mumble "Everyone wants to look like you."

"No, I mean it. Anyway, I have your shoes… and I have something else that mom told me to keep for your first reaping, just like that dress" She says as she goes to her closet and pulls out a big box and a smaller box, handing me the bigger one.

When I open the box, I can't help but smile. They are ballet flats. _White _ballet flats. I can see why I wasn't given them before now; they would have been brown or green! Also inside the box is a piece of paper. I take it out and unfold it slowly.

_Lacey,_

_Well…. If you are reading this, I am no longer with you and it is your first reaping. I always dreaded today. The day your name would be in the reaping ball. You are smart Lacey; you know what the capitol is trying to do to our family. They are trying to get rid of us. Today, you will be reaped, as much as I hate saying that, I know that it is true and I'm sure that you have known for a while now. _

_You look fragile, small, innocent, sweet, and most of all, you look harmless. They will all underestimate you. Use that to your advantage. Act sweet and girly and frightened. They aren't hard to fool. Don't tell anyone about this plan, they aren't trustworthy. Not even your mentor can know. In training, try to use a weapon, and pretend to fail miserably. Make it seem like you are too weak to even pick up an axe, much less be able to hurt anyone with it. Purposefully look weak in the Private Sessions so that you get a low training score. Only work on your skills at night, when no one is watching. No one will suspect a thing. I know that you have been training at night; I've seen what you can do… But no one else has, keep it that way until you are in the arena, and then try to make so that the only tributes that have seen are dead. If you can, cry during your interview. In the arena, don't go down without a fight. With your skills and the element of surprise on your side, you will be unstoppable._

_One last thing, Make the capitol wish that they hadn't made you a tribute. Make them regret it. I know you will find a way to do this. If you won't do it for me, then do it for your siblings, or Mabel's siblings. _

_I love you so much sweetie! You mean the world to me and I am right here, watching and protecting you._

_Mom._

I read the paper once again before folding it up and putting it in my shoe.

"Well… what does it say?" Emma asks curiously.

"It just says that she knew this would happen and that she loves me." I reply, not telling her the whole truth.

She nods before putting the box away and pulling something out of the little box, telling me to close my eyes.

I close my eyes and feel her brush my hair out of the way and place a chain around my neck. I feel something cool resting against my chest bone and I instantly recognize it as the pendant of a necklace. I reach up and touch it, rolling it between my thumb and pointer finger, trying to figure out what it is without opening my eyes.

Emma releases my hair and whispers "You can open your eyes now."

I open my eyes and look in the mirror, my eyes instantly finding the necklace. The chain is a plain silver chain, nothing special there. But the pendant is so… different. It's a corkscrew of blue, white, and green glass that is swirled together. There is also a similar corkscrew but in red, orange, and pink. They twist around each other but do not touch until the end.

_Wait… glass? But… I will break it!_

As if reading my mind, my sister says "The glass is coated in something that makes it indestructible"

"It's beautiful" I mumble quietly

"Yes it is. We have to get going soon… we don't want you to miss the reapings."

I nod and open my mouth to say something, but am interrupted by a loud knock on the door to our house. I hear Mabel say "I'll get it!" I know who it is, and I don't want her facing them alone, so I run out of Emma's room and down the hall to catch up with Mabel.

"I said I would get it!" She exclaims

"It's the peacekeepers. I don't want you facing them alone." I snap at her.

She nods in understanding as I put on a fake smile and open the door to see what looks to be… 7 peacekeepers? Of course, the regular group they send to retrieve us each year.

"Yes? Oh hey! Great to see you guys again!" I say in a sickeningly sweet voice

"The reapings are going to start soon. You have to go now." The only one without a gun replied.

"Oh they are? Well give us a minute, we gotta go get Emma. You know how she is… always taking forever"

"You _both _need to go get Emma? No. You will stay here. Mabel can go get Emma."

"Oh… I suppose you are right." I say casually as Mabel walks away to get Emma, "So… how are you guys? Must be tiring preparing for the reapings, I would know; I had to get up at 7 this morning! That's two hours earlier than usual!"

"Well… this year is a _big _year for you Lacey. It's your first reaping!"

"Yeah I know! I _really _hope I don't get picked this year! I mean… its _soooo unlikely _that I will though. My name is only in there 3 times!" I try to keep my tone sweet, but I'm pretty sure some sarcasm got into my voice.

If it did, they didn't catch it. I could see the shock on their faces and hear the two in the back whisper "She doesn't know? Damn she is oblivious!"

_Oh I know. _I thought and tried to keep the smirk off my face _you guys are the only oblivious ones here._

I was about to say something else, but Emma and Mabel came back, so instead I said "Are we ready to go? I just want to get this over with and get back home!"

Again I heard the whispers from the back two, but the shock wasn't as evident on their faces as they nodded. I linked my arm in Mabel's and flashed her a big smile. The Peacekeepers circled around us as the unarmed one led the way.

_Well… they are stupid. I could stab him before they could stop me. Too bad I left my knife at home._

As we walked to the reapings, everyone stared at us. I smiled and waved and jumped up and down… which is what they expected me to do. After all, I have a reputation of acting childish. When we reached the town square I skipped, yes _skipped_ into the line to have my finger pricked. I smiled sweetly at the grumpy capitol lady and her eyes widened with shock. She didn't even need to prick my finger to identify me, but she had to so that the computer would. I skipped into the 12 year old pen and was instantly surrounded by people. I talked to them about everything and nothing, keeping the smile on my face and my tone upbeat and happy. I was bubbly and giggly. I'm pretty sure by the time that we had to quiet down; I had talked to everyone in our pen.

The _wonderful _Capitol escort walked onto the stage. She has been out escort for years now and thinks that we will like her more if she dresses like our district would in the chariots; Trees. She is wearing a weirdly textured brown dress that looks hideous and she died her hair leaf green. I swear she purposefully tries to insult us.

"Hello district 7!" she says in her high pitched voice with her obnoxious Capitol accent. When no one replies, I smile sweetly and yell in a bubbly and energetic voice "Hello! I love your dress!" all the kids around me laugh, knowing that I didn't mean it.

The Capitol escort smiles and looks around our section, trying to find the person that said it. I grin and wave at her, hopping up and down. She waves back and continues to talk about the hunger games and the Capitol and the dark days.

I don't really listen; instead I plan out what I will do when my name is called.

"Ladies first!" she squeals and I have to fight the urge to cringe. She walks over to the reaping ball and plucks a name off the top. The first thing I notice is that the paper is white while the rest are ivory. Could they make it any more obvious that it is rigged? She unfolds the paper and taps the mike before saying the name and letting it ring through the silence

"Lacey Lockhart"

_That's my cue_, I think as everyone turns to stare at me. I let my face pale and my eyes widen with shock. I stay frozen in place for a second before someone nudges me forward. At this moment, I burst out crying and stumble forward, almost falling over but catching myself at the last moment. I walk up to the stage with my head down, as if I was trying to hide my tears. When I reach the stage, I let out a sob before climbing the stairs and going to stand next to the escort, who puts an arm around me for a second. I cover my face with my hands before wiping my eyes and sniffling. _Nice acting _I think and try to keep myself from smirking.

"Awww... Its ok sweetie." she says before adding "and now for the boys."

She walks over to the boys reaping ball and picks a random piece of paper up. I notice that this one isn't white, unlike mine.

"Soul Kingston"

A boy steps out of the 18 year old pen and walks confidently to the stage. He smirks at me and looks like he is sizing me up. Well... I must look pretty pathetic because the look in his eyes softens and he gives me a reassuring smile. I smile back sheepishly and blink away the tears in my eyes, keeping them wide so that I appear frightened by Soul.

This boy is BIG! He must be over 6 feet tall and he is so muscular, his arm is as big as my waist! He has brown hair and grey eyes, which have a warm and inviting look in them. He has a few scars on his arm and I'm tempted to ask him how he got them, but that would ruin my act. So instead I let my eyes widen in fear and when the escort tells us to shake hands, I flinch away from him before taking his hand and shaking it. After that we are led into the justice building for our goodbyes before we leave this place for what could very well be forever.

**Hey! I'm Shelby… and this is my new story! I hope you like it! My goal is to post a new chapter very often… maybe once a week… But please PLEASE don't kill me if that doesn't happen… school fucking sucks. **

**Anyway… Thank you for reading… Please review! I'd really appreciate it!**


	2. Know Your Enemy

**Well…. This chapter is extremely long. So if you don't have a lot of time… I suggest that you wait until you do. In the future I will try to make the chapters shorter… unless you like them this length. **

I know that most people say goodbye to their family and friends at this time, but I don't want to. I just can't stand the thought of everyone crying and saying how terrible it is that I was reaped. I mean, I already knew it would happen… you had to be an idiot or completely oblivious not to see it. So when I reach the goodbye room, instead of going in and waiting for my family, I sit in the hallway outside of the room. Visitors enter through another hallway, so I know that no one will bother me here. Now isn't the time to be sad or to console others, now is the time that I strategize.

Since I made myself seem so pathetic during the reapings, I will be seen as weak and an easy target to all the other tributes. During the train ride to the Capitol, all the tributes watch the reapings. They are the first time you see your opponents, the first time you are shown to the capitol, and the time that most tributes start to strategize. I'm ahead of the game; I've been strategizing for a while now, secretly.

I still need to hold up the act, otherwise my district partner, if not others, will get suspicious. I can't afford for that to happen. So, of course, I need to appear like I was crying when they come to retrieve me. _That's not too hard_.

I can cry whenever I want, It's a skill I've picked up over the years. All you have to do is think of something sad. For me, I think about my family… Especially Emma. I have known her all my life, she is the only family I have left, and I just can't stand the thought of losing her. I'd be truly alone if that happened, and I would have to be put in an orphanage.

I stare off for a few minutes, thinking about everything and nothing. I glance at the clock. _3:55 _they will be coming to get me soon, so I need to start the act now. I really should stay in character at all times… you never know when someone could walk in.

I start to think about Emma being reaped instead of me, and almost instantly tears are streaming down my face. I rub my eyes for good measure and hug my knees to my chest. I'm not actually too sad; I have just learned to trigger tears at slightly sad thoughts. I mean, I know that it would be impossible for Emma to be reaped… she is too old for that.

I hear a door opening, so quietly I question if a door was actually opened. I glance up and see Soul, my district partner, staring at me with a look somewhere between embarrassment, pity, and shock. I look down at the floor and wipe away my tears, only to cry more. _I should be an actress… _

"I… uh… are you ok?" He asks quietly, taking a few steps forward, only to stop in his tracks when I scoot back until I'm in the corner, at which his face contorts to look of hurt and worry. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you." He adds.

I look at him and get up slowly before looking back down at the floor, "I-I know." I mumble before adding "I'm just scared… my… my brother d-died a few years ago in the games. I don't want t-to die"

He nods, not saying anything, and closes the space between us, hugging me in the way an older brother would. I flinch but do not push him away. It's comforting… almost. The fact that I could be killing him, or, even worse, he could be killing me in a few weeks just ruins the comfort to some extent.

I hear another door open, no where near as quiet as Soul was. "There you guys are! Come on, we have to go to the train! You guys will love it… it's an opportunity most people in your district do not get the honor of experiencing…. Well don't just stand there, Come on!" our capitol escort says in that high pitched voice of hers. I swear I have to fight the urge to punch her.

Soul nods, leaving an arm around my shoulder and leaning down to whisper, "I don't think it's worth it… and I'm not sure if I think this because of the fact that the train is taking us to the capitol… or the fact that she will be on the train with us."

I smile slightly and we walk forward towards the doors that will lead us back into district that we will probably never see again. When we reach our escort, she grabs my hand and leads us through the doors.

The first thing I see are my friends and Emma, all wearing slight frowns, obviously upset that I didn't talk to them in the goodbye rooms. I almost feel bad, but they aren't the ones going to the Capitol's hell, better known as the arena. I keep my eyes on the ground in front of me until we board the train.

I have to admit that the inside of the train is impressive, but I don't really care about that right now. Soon I will see my competition for the first time; I will finally know what I am up against. I will get to see myself, so I can know if my performance was believable or if I have already messed up the plan.

"Sweetie are you alright? Is it too much for you?" Our capitol escort asks… I think her name is Evanna. She really needs to stop talking or she will make me blow my cover.

I nod slowly, looking around before shaking my head and snapping my attention back to her.

"Well that's good; your room is the first one on the right. I changed it around a little while you were saying goodbye. I think you will like it… why don't you get changed into something more comfortable? Dinner will be soon!"

I smile and say quietly, "Thank you" before turning and walking to my room, opening the door slowly.

What. The. Hell?!

My room looks like a unicorn puked all over it. Its pink… bubblegum pink, and _sparkly. _My escort is trying to make me break out of my act, I swear she is. It gets worse though. The shower settings are changed. Bubblegum, Vanilla, cupcake, and _sugar cookie _soaps and shampoos replace the lemon ones I had heard about from Sephoria, the victor from a few years ago.

The worst part of all, however, is the clothes. Since I am so small, I guess I still wear what the capitol calls 'children sizes' The closet is filled with Pastel color dresses and skirts that are covered in sparkles, flowers, bows, and hearts. I can't stand any of it! But I have to stay in character, so I pick out a pair of PJ shorts that are covered in hearts and a white shirt with bows on the sleeves and a cat in the center.

Just as I have finished changing, I hear a light knock on the door. "Come in" I say sweetly, and the door opens slowly. Soul walks into my room and instantly bursts out laughing. "She really made your room… colorful didn't she?" He asks.

"I like it!" I exclaim as I sit down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm sure you do. Just like you love the clothes they gave you? I have to admit though… Evanna loves you. Anyway, Dinner is ready. Also, I met the mentor, I'm sure you have met her before… she was from the year that the girl they reaped had killed herself. I don't see the point in that… the girl made a stupid choice" He says, a look of disgust apparent on his face as he says the last part.

I instantly start crying, covering my face with my hands.

"Hey… what did I say?" He asks, sitting on the bed next to me.

"That girl… her name was Rose. She was my best friend's sister… and she killed herself because she knew she was going to get reaped and she didn't want to put Mabel, my best friend, through the pain of watching her die some horrible death in the arena." I say, sniffling and occasionally stuttering.

"Oh…" That's all he can say. Oh. Yeah, who feels stupid now?

"Yeah… I'll be out in a minute…" I mumble and stand up, heading to the bathroom.

"Ok… See you at dinner" He replies as he exits my room.

I wash my face and then put my hair in pigtails before walking out of the bathroom and wandering over to the dining room.

When I walk into the room, three people look at me, looks of concern evident on their faces.

"Hey Lacey, how are you?" Our mentor, Sephoria, asks. Of all the people here I trust her the most. I talked to her often back in the districts. Don't get me wrong… I don't actually trust anyone, but if I had to, I would trust her.

"Hey Sephie, I'm alright, somewhat." I reply

"Sephie? Sweetie its Sephoria!" Evanna exclaims

"She can call me Sephie, It's what she always calls me" Sephoria replies, glaring at our escort.

"Oh…ok." Evanna says, blushing slightly.

I sit down next to Soul and take a roll of bread, nibbling on it and taking a sip of water.

"Sweetie! You have to eat more than that! Do you always eat so little? I'm surprised you haven't starved yet!" Evanna says as she puts two chicken legs on my plate and a piece of corn on the cob.

"Uh… thanks? I'm not really hungry though" I mumble, eyeing the corn suspiciously

"You have to eat though! When was the last time you ate?" She asks.

"Two days ago I had a couple pieces of bread." I reply, suddenly feeling very self conscious.

She gasps "Two days ago!? That isn't good sweetie. You need to eat! I am not letting you leave the table until you eat!"

Soul chuckles and leans over, whispering "She probably acts more motherly than your mom does, and I somehow doubt she understands anything about what it's like to live in the districts."

I frown and pick at the food in front of me, eating a little bit of it, just enough to get Evanna off of my case.

Dinner goes by slowly. People ask me questions or try to talk to me, and I just ignore them, never looking up from my plate.

It's Soul who puts it all together. His face pales, and he looks at me with a slightly haunted look before whispering, barely audible to me, and probably not heard by the other people at the table, "Oh god, Lacey…your mom is dead… isn't she? Just like your brother and that girl you knew, Rose… I'm so sorry for all the comments I've made. Oh god you must hate me! I'm sorry! I'm sooo sorry! Wait… those aren't the only people you know that are dead. Lacey, how many people do you know that are dead?"

There it is; the question I dreaded answering and the one that makes me want to stop acting, because after I answer it, he will feel bad for me, more than he already does. I want to show everyone that I am stronger than that, that I am not broken because of who I have lost. That I can survive, and that I don't need to be treated like a child. But that isn't the plan. That isn't what my mom would want me to do. I have to keep up the act, no matter what.

I nod slightly and reply, my voice quivering and tears forming in my eyes, "You are right. She… my mom… is dead. And yes, my brother and Rose aren't the only other people that are dead. My dad, Mabel's parents, her brother, and her sister, and my baby sister Lyla… they are all... dead. I live with Mabel and my older sister Emma. Mabel… she is going to get reaped next year, or the year after that. I don't know exactly what year it will be, but she will get reaped. I'm going to die, and then she is going to have to take terrasae. More than she already is forced to take. Since she doesn't have lumber or something to give to the capitol, they make her put her name in 10 extra times each year without getting any food. Then there are the two slips she will get in return for food… then the one because she is 12. So 15 papers with her name on them her first year. _Fifteen. _That is twelve more than me. But when she is 13, her name will be in the reaping ball 26 times. By 18… her name will be in the reaping ball… 91 times. _Ninety-one times! _That is the highest number ever. She might as well volunteer… I can't stand the thought of her going to the Games. I'd rather die over and over again."

He says nothing, obviously not knowing what to say to that.

"Are you done with dinner sweetie? It's almost time to watch reapings!" Evanna says, the big smile on her face telling me that she didn't hear what Soul and I just talked about.

I don't respond. I instead, I stand up and push my chair in before walking out of the room. I look around for a minute before I see a clear door. As I walk towards it, it opens, causing me to jump back. I didn't touch the door! Why did it open?

I hear someone chuckle behind me and I turn around to see Sephoria, who is grinning and shaking her head slightly.

"It's called an automatic door. They open on their own… get used to it, they are all over the capitol."

"Oh… ok."

"Lacey… we need to talk later. Ok? I'll come by your room." She says, the look of seriousness making me curious. What does she want to talk to me about?

I nod and walk through the 'automatic doors.' There is enough furniture for a whole neighborhood back home! There are at least 12 different chairs and sofas, and a couple tables, and a TV, something I hadn't seen up close before. I stand there for a moment, staring in awe at the room in front of me before shaking my head to clear it and sitting down slowly on the light green floor.

Soon Evanna, Sephoria, and Soul walk in along with a few other people I didn't know. They all sit in chairs, except for Sephoria, who sits next to me.

We all sit in silence for a moment before the screen flickers to life, making me flinch.

The capitol emblem appears on the screen and after a few seconds President Snow's, the new President of Panem, face replaces it. I have to fight the urge to growl and kick the screen until it goes black. God I hate him.

"Welcome citizens of Panem. I hope that you are all as excited as I am for this year's Hunger Games. Remember that they are not only for entertainment, but to reminder the districts of the dark days, and that the Capitol will always be in control. To remind you that we are still kind, one lone victor will return to their districts each year. Tributes, I wish you Happy Happy Hunger Games… And may the odds be ever in your favor during the 33rd annual Games!"

With that, it cuts to the district 1 reapings. This is it, the first appearance of all my competitors.

I don't really pay attention to the escort as he rambles on and on about the dark days, but instantly focus when he says, "Ladies first!"

As he slowly pulls a name out of the reaping ball, I can't help but bite my lip. District 1 is a career district, so I know that they will have a ton of Volunteers.

"Fla…"

"I VOLUNTEER!" a chorus of female voices yell.

"I VOLUNTEER!" a voice screams out, seconds after everyone else and louder than all the other voices combined

"Oh! It seems that we have a volunteer!" The escort exclaims, pointing to the girl who had screamed last.

The girl grins happily and steps out of the 18's section. The moment she does, everyone from her district bursts out laughing. She runs up to the stage and takes the mike from the escort. "My name is Flame Brookmyre, and I am going to make all of you proud!" She exclaims a big smile on her face as she hands the mike back to the escort.

"Uh… sweetheart, you volunteered for yourself" The escort says slowly, causing the girl to blush and everyone to laugh again.

"Well… I had to make sure that none of the other girls volunteered for me" She says and flips her pretty blonde hair over her shoulder, her strength and bloodlust obvious in her bright hazel eyes. She smiles, but it comes off as a smile of a predator, vicious and menacing, which may be what she was going for.

"Ok then, now for the boys!" The escort exclaims as he reaches into the male reaping ball.

"Cameron Colt" He yells, obviously surprised that he didn't get interrupted.

A boy steps out of the 14's section with a smirk on his face. He saunters, yes _saunters _onto the stage.

"Any volunteers?" The escort asks, trying to keep the look of shock off of his face. The 14 year old next to him glares at the 18 year old pen, mentally threatening them and making it clear that he will be the male tribute for district 1.

"Ok then! District 1, I give you Flame Brookmyre and Cameron Colt, your tributes in the 33rd annual Hunger Games!"

The two shake hands and smile at the crowd before walking into the Justice Building.

The rest of the reapings go about the same way. Except out side of 1, 2, and 4, there aren't as many volunteers. I watch intently, analyzing each tribute as they walk onto the stage. When my own reaping is played, I try not to grin as I watch myself sob on the screen. There is no way anyone who didn't know me could have seen through that performance.

I take mental notes about each tribute so later tonight when I am in my room alone, I can write it all down. Every little thing that I noticed will be put on paper so that I don't forget it.

When the reapings are over, I yawn and say that I am going to take a shower and go to sleep. When I stand up, I notice that Sephoria stands up too, and when she stands up, Soul stands up looking at me with a worried expression. _Oh joy… I have a lot of people to talk to tonight. _

A few moments after I enter my room, I hear two voices talking in the hall, right outside of my room. I quietly walk over and press my ear to the door.

"… worried about her, she isn't going to make it past the bloodbath. I really want her to win… She needs to win. Her family… I'm sure you know about them, and she is so young… She hasn't even lived yet. Please, she needs to go home." A male voice says. _Soul. _He is the only guy on the train… and even though I have only known him for a few hours, I feel like I could recognize his voice anywhere.

"I know. I really want her to go home too. I feel like she's my little sister. But you are right… She isn't going to survive the bloodbath. I've seen her around the district; she can't even pick up an axe. I don't know what to do Soul, as much as I would like to help you." A person that could only be Sephoria replies.

"If… If I can get her through the bloodbath, will you promise to do everything in your power to help her? I'll protect her for as long as I can, but in order of her to win, I will have to die. And you saw those tributes; it's a stronger group this year. Maybe they are not all physically stronger, but some are mentally stronger, maybe even emotionally stronger. You saw the reapings; she was the only one to show an emotion other than happiness. They had 7 volunteers this year, and only 4 of them were careers. The guys all seem bigger this year, and the smaller girls all seem either really clever or like they are hiding something. I know it's a lost cause… but I need to at least try." He says, an edge of desperation creeping into his voice.

"I'll try… but what can I do? I'm not in the arena with you guys, I can't fend off other tributes."

"I know you hate to admit it, but the Capitol loves you. Sponsors, they can change the odds of a person in the Games. Don't waste any of the sponsor money on me, unless it will indirectly help her. Please, just do whatever you can. If… if I can save her, then I'll die happy. She doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve to die… please… just... please."

The last few words of what Soul says come out as a whisper.

I can't see her, but I can tell that she nodded, "Alright. Now, I know you want to talk to her… So I'll see you later Soul."

I walk silently back to my bed and sit on the edge, taking my necklace off and turning it in my hands slowly waiting for Soul to knock. When he does I say, "Come in" just loud enough that it can be heard through the door, never looking up from the necklace in my hands.

I don't hear the door open, and for a moment I think that he didn't hear me.

"Hi Lacey" He says quietly.

"Hi Soul, what's up?" I say just as quietly, setting the necklace down and finally looking up at him to see him hovering in the doorway.

"I just wanted to ask… are you ok?" He asks, looking down at the floor.

I nod slowly, "I'm fine…" laughing sadly before adding "I have accepted that I won't see our district again. I mean, you saw the other tributes, I don't have a chance. But… maybe it's better this way, I can be with my family again."

I look away as he stares at me, a look of disbelief and pain in his eyes. He crosses the room in a few quick strides and sits down next to me, grabbing my shoulders gently but just forcefully enough to make me look at him, at the pain in his eyes. "You aren't going to die. I won't let you. Ok? You aren't going to die." He whispers.

"Why? We both know that it's going to happen. Stop trying to make me believe things that aren't true. The sooner you accept it, the better. I'm the youngest person in the games… and the smallest… and obviously the weakest. Face the facts Soul; I am going to die in the games, just like every other 12 year old has."

"Don't talk like that Lacey. It's not true. The odds can change. They have to Lacey. They have to."

"They won't. Stop hoping that they will. They don't change. I'm going to die. If I can accept that, why can't you?"

"Dammit Lacey! We can change the odds! I'll kill every tribute in that arena if I have to.

You will go home!"

"Why? Why are you putting your life on the line to save mine?" I whisper, confused by his words.

"I… I don't know. You are so young, so sweet. You don't deserve to die. You haven't even lived yet! I don't know why… maybe it's because I know that it would kill me to know that I could have saved you… and instead I let you die. Or maybe it's because you are like the little sister I always wanted but never got. I don't know why Lacey, but I know that I would do anything to get you out of the arena alive. I… goodnight Lacey." He says, walking out of the room.

"Goodnight Soul" I whisper, well aware of the fact that he won't hear me.

I lay back on my bed for a minute, thinking about what Soul had said. I hadn't counted on anyone wanting to protect me. It throws my plan off. Can I really kill someone from my own district? Someone who sees me as a little sister? I have to, but if I do, will my district ever forgive me? I guess it actually doesn't matter… they will already hate me for the disturbing deaths that I have planned. They will think I am a monster. Why not add one more act to the list of monstrous things I will do? I will make his death quick though, but it will have to be near the beginning of the games, otherwise I will not be able to kill anyone, not while he is around, treating me like the little kid I am pretending to be.

I hear the sound of my door clicking shut, and I roll onto my side to see Sephoria, staring at me the same way that Soul had. "Ok, what's up? You never cry. Ever. And suddenly you are here, crying all the time. It's not you."

"I do cry. I just usually try to do it when I am alone. And did you ever think that maybe this is too much for me? So many people I knew so well have been here, on this very train. Heck, some of them have been in this very _room. _It's hard. And then Soul makes comments about how Rose was stupid to kill herself the day of the reapings and how Evanna probably acts more motherly than my actual mom does. It… all of it… broke down the mental barriers I built." I whisper, trying to make the lie sound believable.

"Lacey… I know that it's hard, but you need to stop crying so much if you want to win the games." She says, her voice softening.

"I'm not going to win the Games. You know that. A 12 year old has never won. Girls only win about 36% of the time. Of that 36%, only 11% aren't careers. Face it, the odds are against me. So far against me that they aren't changeable. Besides, I'm not sure if I want to win, If I don't, I can be with my family again."

"Don't talk like that; you are going to come out of the arena."

"You and Soul say the same exact things, but you are right, I will come out of the arena. I will come out in a wooden coffin and without a heartbeat."

"Lacey! If you say those sorts of things then they are guaranteed to come true!"

"Seriously… you and Soul should have just come in at the same time."

"Lacey, you already are sounding different then you were earlier. But being hopeless and angry isn't you either. You are usually bubbly, and happy, but most of all determined. Then you get reaped and you are hopeless and fragile, sad and weak. Now, you are angry and sad and hopeless."

"You are right. I'm just… it has been a long day. I'm tired." I say, yawning for good measures.

"Alright… I'll see you tomorrow. Get some sleep." She says, sighing as she stands up.

"Goodnight Sephie!"

"Night Lacey."

When she closes the door behind her, I stand up and walk into the bathroom to take a shower. I press a random button, and I am instantly attacked by a stream of warm water and some sort of pink sparkly foam. What the hell? Why are there sparkles in the… shampoo? I think that's what it is called. I quickly finish with the rest of my shower and dry off. I am about to walk out of the bathroom when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I stare in horror at my reflection. My hair has _glitter _in it. I bang my head against a wall before walking back into my room and changing into a random set of clothes. Since I don't want anyone knowing that I am up, I grab a small notebook and a pencil and turn off the light before walking back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me.

I sit against the door open up the notebook. I write at the top of the page _Tribute Rankings (based on whether they would be a threat to me)._Below that I number the page 1-23, since I don't need to put myself on the list. I then go back and mentally replay the reapings, trying to decide who my biggest threats are. After a few minutes I have a list.

_1. Blair, district 2 female_

_2. Storm, district 2 male_

_3. Sebastian, district 4 male_

_4. Flame, district 1 female_

_5. Cameron, district 1 male_

_6. Brandon, district 6 male_

_7. Sadie, district 3 female_

_8. Xena, district 6 female_

_9. Axel, district 5 male_

_10. Jasper, district 8 male_

_11. Alice, district 4 female_

_12. Skye, district 5 female_

_13. Elora, district 10 female_

_14. Munro, district 9 male_

_15. Scarlette, district 11 female_

_16. Cami, district 9 female_

_17. Evan, district 3 male_

_18. Bella, district 8 female_

_19. Jagger, district 10 male_

_20. Clara, district 12 female_

_21. Dante, district 11 male_

_22. Caleb, district 12 male_

_23. Soul, district 7 male (Is a threat… just not to me)_

I guess that… everyone between 12 and 22 is going to die in the bloodbath. I know that this list also will change around quite a bit… but that's it for now. On the next 23 pages, I put a tribute name, in district order, and put everything I know about them. Like how Flame from district 1 isn't exactly smart. I leave spaces for training score, strengths, weaknesses, and best weapons. By the time I am finished, I feel satisfied and I exit the bathroom, turning off the light as I leave. I hide the notebook and check the digital clock _10:43. _Hmmmm… not as late as I thought. Since there aren't any weapons or other things that can be used to train around, I get in bed and go to sleep, thinking about all the other tributes and becoming the victor my family (and Mabel's) deserved.

**Well…. That is the end of the chapter! I know… don't cry, please. There will probably be another chapter next weekend… but please DON'T KILL ME IF IT DOESN'T HAPPEN! Thanks! Please review and tell me if the chapter was too long, what you thought about it… or how I should never ever write again because it was so terrible. (Actually… I'd rather if you reviewed about the first two) It would make me smile… or cry if they are extremely mean. **

**Also… I would like to say thank you to ILoveDoodle, who was the first to review. Your question will be answered later in the story… much later in the story. **

**Thank you for reading!**


	3. Picture Perfect

**Here is the next chapter. Hope you like it!**

**Note: I don't own the Hunger Games…. Just in case you were wondering. **

**Without Further Ado, I give you… The Chapter! :O**

I wake up to the sound of fast tapping on the door and Evanna's high pitched squeal telling me to get up and that we would be arriving in the capitol soon. I groan, turning over, and her screeching only gets louder and louder, until she decides to just open the door. She taps my shoulder and I open my eyes slowly, a smile slowly forming as a sit up and stretch slowly. I yawn and wave, smiling sleepily. "Good morning Evanna!"

"You are a really deep sleeper! I knocked on your door for soo long! Come on, get ready. We are going to arrive in the Capitol very soon, and we don't want to be late!" She says, beaming as she turns and walks out of the room.

When she leaves, I get walk to the bathroom and step into the shower, letting the scalding hot water wash over me as I think about my plans for the day.

Yesterday I acted too sad, and that definitely isn't what I am going for. Yes, I am trying to be sad and fragile, but it is supposed to be balanced with a childish manner and giggly, bubbly happiness. I'll start that today. If they ask why I am not as sad today, or why I am so happy today, I'll say that I was just really sad, but I have gotten over some of it and that I hate being sad. They have seen me around the district; I can pull off that lie easily.

I exit the shower and dry off, glancing at my reflection. Today, I was extra careful to choose a shampoo that wasn't sparkly. It is still slightly glittery from yesterday's shower, but it isn't as obvious. I put my hair into two pigtails and put on the clothes I had selected this morning; a white long sleeved shirt with an animal, I think Evanna had called it a "penguin", on it, and a light blue poofy skirt with little bows on the hem. I pull out my ballet flats and slip them on. I grab the notebook and my note and put them in the pocket of the skirt. I put my necklace on and skip out of my room and down to where they are serving breakfast.

Evanna and Sephoria are already there, but Soul is nowhere to be seen.

"Hello Evanna and Sephie! How are you this morning? I know I am feeling better today than I had last night! I was just so tired! Those beds are so soft; I swear I thought I was sleeping on a cloud! And I just love these clothes! I mean, don't you just love this skirt? And wow the showers are amazing…" I gushed, going on and on about anything happy I could think of, a sweet smile staying on my face the whole time. _Oh god, I should stop talking before I throw up. Seriously? Did I really just talk about Unicorns and Rainbows and Sunshine? Wait no, no I did not. I guess I will save those topics for later. Remember: childish, innocent, sweet, bubbly, WEAK._

"That's wonderful sweetie! Imagine when we get to the Capitol! You will love it there, everything is colorful and the rooms are better than the ones they have here! Now come on, eat some breakfast before we leave the train. You will be very busy later!" Evanna says, and her voice is _almost_ enough to make me break out of character.

I glance at Sephoria, and she looks relieved. This is the attitude she is used to seeing. I walk to the table, bouncing slightly with each short, quick steps and sit down in the same spot as yesterday. I take a chocolate chip bagel, a few pieces of bacon, and some fruit. I take a sip of a delicious beverage called strawberry milk. It's pink, so that worries me a little since drinks aren't usually pink. I eat my food quickly and talk about anything I can think about, and Evanna goes on and on about how much I will love my stylist. I am informed that Soul already ate, and that we will be arriving in the Capitol very soon. I excuse myself from the table after I finish eating and go back to my room to wash my face and brush my teeth with fancy toothpaste that whitens your teeth instantly. My teeth were already pretty white, but now they are really white, just like Evanna's. I sit on the bed and draw pictures of the forests back in district 7 until the train comes to a stop. At this time, I walk out of my room to the door that lets us off of the train. Evanna walks up to me and holds one of my hands as the door slides open and I get a glimpse of the Capitol for the first time.

I gasp. It's so _bright. _The walls are made of some glittering rock that changes colors and the floor is filled with water. There are wooden chairs in the train station with intricate designs carved in them. They must be from are district. All of this, however, is _nothing _compared to the people. They are all so bright, so colorful, so… scary to some extent, but most of all… so _loud. _Their screams ring through my ears and make my head hurt. As tempted as I am to cover my ears and shut my eyes, I know that I can't, so instead I widen my eyes with awe and force a bright smile onto my face. I wave to a few people and skip through the crowd toward what must be the remake center. I turn around and smile one more time before backing into the building.

Before the door even closes, I back into a person, a man to be exact, and scream as he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. I see some capitol people staring in horror through the door, but not doing anything about it. I hear a door open and I am thrown to the ground. It is dark, so I can't see anything. I am not afraid, yet I start crying because I somehow know that I should stay in character. The door shuts and the lights turn on, revealing the man who brought me here.

He is average height, somewhere around 5'7 and isn't as muscular as I had expected. He looks somewhere in his forties, around my parent's age, but with Capitol people you can never be sure. He has silver eyes, dark red hair, and tons of tattoos. Oddly, they are all of names. I slowly start reading the names on his right arm and gasp. I know _a lot _of the people on his arm. They are all _dead. _They are all written on his arm, in order of which they died. Mabel's siblings, my siblings, and past tributes. Why does he have all these names on his arm?

"W-who are you?" I ask, never taking my eyes off of his arm.

"I am Styarr, your stylist. Now, before someone finds us, I wanted to talk to you. _Alone. _This is the only room that isn't monitored." He says, his voice deep and menacing, the cold stare he was giving me only adding more of an edge to his voice.

"…Ok. Why do you want to talk to me alone? What do you want to talk about?"

"Well… let's just face the facts. You are pathetic. Weak, fragile, tiny… it's gonna be fun watching you die in the arena. I get another tattoo that way, another name that when I see I can smile and think of someone's terrible demise. Anyway… I would like to say a few… things I would get in trouble for saying anywhere else."

He proceeded to say a few… _choice words _and described the way that he wanted me to die… and I, while laughing on the inside, cried like a little baby and flinched at every bad or violent thing he said. Then he told me that he would see me soon to get me ready for the chariots and walked out, slamming the door behind him. The moment the door shut, I glanced up to make sure there wasn't a peep hole. There wasn't, so I knew he couldn't be watching me. I chuckled quietly and smiled. After my victory… we might get along, only after I tattoo over all the names on his arms. He can't think of my sibling's deaths and _smile. _He is not going to get away with that.

I walked out of the room a few minutes later and wandered around until I found Evanna, who sighed in relief and ran over to me.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? YOU HAVE BEEN GONE FOR ALMOST AN HOUR! WE ARE WAY BEHIND SCHEDULE NOW!" She shrieked at me, and I cringed away because her screeching is so _high pitched!_

"Sorry," I mumble before adding, "I got lost… this place is HUGE!"

Her expression softened and she said, "I suppose that's alright. You don't need as much work done to you as most tributes do. They will finish in time."

I nod and three people burst into the hallway looking worried and frustrated.

"Did you find her yet?" The tallest one squeals.

"Yes. Lacey, this is your prep team. The tallest one is Sinnamon, next is Sugar, and the shortest is Spice. I'm sure you will love them. Now go on, they already have less time then they expected." Evanna explains as she pushes me towards them.

I stumble a few times as they drag me into the room and slam the door shut behind them. Sinnamon guides me to the middle of the room and they circle around me, inspecting me with looks of delight on their faces. I cross my arms over my chest self-consciously and look at my feet.

Sugar pulls my arms down and makes me look up again. They all murmur about every last detail of my appearance.

"Ok sweetie. I think I know what we need to do. It shouldn't take long since you already look decent. We got a good one for once, didn't we Spice?" Sinnamon squeals and I have to fight the urge to punch her. They talk about the past tributes like they are presents.

Spice nods and glances at me with a look that makes me almost think that she knows what I am thinking about, or she agrees with my thoughts. As they all run off to get the things they need for their assigned jobs. When they come back I push all my thoughts aside and watch them curiously. They scrub off layers of skin and put some gooey warm stuff on my skin, they wait a minute before suddenly yanking it off.

I scream and cry out, "OW! What was that for? That hurt!"

Sugar giggles, "Sorry sweetie, we were just removing all the hair from your body."

They continue putting weird things on my skin and I sit there, continuing to watch curiously. When they seem satisfied with my skin's appearance, they split up to work on different tasks. Sinnamon works on my nails while Sugar does makeup and Spice styles my hair. I fight the urge to move around in the chair because I know that would mess up their work and make it take longer. After they work for what feels like hours, they all stand back and smile triumphantly.

"You look wonderful! Lolita will love you! Oh I can't wait to see what she comes up with!" Sugar and Sinnamon squeal in unison.

Lolita? Who is that?

The door is thrown open and I look over to see Styarr. I have to fight the urge to glare at him or to laugh. Instead, I widen my eyes and back up a little.

"Styarr? Aren't you Soul's stylist? Where is Lolita?" Spice asks, eyeing Styarr suspiciously.

"We switched tributes. Speaking of tributes, I need to work on an outfit for mine, so get out of here," Styarr growls, gesturing to the door.

They nod and scramble out of the room, obviously afraid of Sytarr.

"So princess, nice to see you again," He says, snarling on the word _princess, _smirking before adding, "Unlike every other year, I'm not going to dress you as a tree. You aren't tall enough to pull that off. Before the dark days, stories called fairy tales were told to children in the Capitol. A very famous one was _Little Red Riding Hood. _It is still told, but after the Hunger Games began, the ending was changed. Instead of the little girl being saved from the big bad wolf by a lumberjack, the lumberjack kills the wolf then cuts off the little girl's head. Everyone in the Capitol, and even some district people, know the tale. So this year, instead of trees, Soul will be the lumberjack and you are going to be Little Red Riding Hood. You fit her role perfectly. She was sweet, innocent, and weak, just like you. And just like her, you are going to die."

Before I can respond, he quickly takes my measurements and walks over to the sewing machine, getting to work right away.

I stare out the window as he works. Soon he tells me to close my eyes and he pulls a dress over my head. Its light and I can tell it stops above my knees without even looking at it. I feel him tie something around my waist and pin something under my chin. I stand still as he puts the finishing touches on the outfit. When I finally am allowed to open my eyes, I walk over to the mirror to see how I look as Little Red Riding Hood.

I gasp, which I seem to be doing a lot of lately. I look like I fell out of the land of fairy tales. The dress is ivory with three-quarter sleeves and is tight until the waist, where it flairs out. Underneath of the ivory part of the skirt there are many layers of red fabric. The red skirt is a few inches longer than the ivory one and stops a few inches above my knees. Between the upper and lower parts of the dress is a wide red and white checkered strip of fabric which is being used as a belt. The hood, of course, is red and reaches the floor. It is held in place by two ribbons that are tied in a bow beneath my chin. I am wearing white stockings and red mary-janes, which are more comfortable than I would have expected. My nails are painted dark pink, but if you don't look closely they appear to be red. My hair is wavy instead of curly (how they managed that, I don't know) and is parted to the side. They put white shimmery eye shadow and eyeliner on me as well as pink lip-gloss. They probably did some other things, but nothing that is too noticeable.

"I look amazing! Thank you Styarr," I murmur, genuinely smiling for the first time today.

"Whatever. Just don't start crying, it will ruin your makeup," He says as he pushes me out of the room and leads me to the elevator. "Now, the chariots are on level 1. Don't get lost. Good luck."

I nod and press the button with a 1 on it, watching Styarr walk away as the elevator doors shut slowly.

When I reach floor one, I am instantly surrounded by Sephoria, Soul, and Evanna. Soul looks kind of menacing in his lumberjack costume, but his stylist added too much country style to it. That and his axe is covered in glitter.

I giggle before saying, "I don't think that axe could cut through anything, but I love it! It's so sparkly!"

Soul glares at me for a second before laughing. "Yeah, I mean, I look terrifying with it right?"

"Oh guys! Come on, the Capitol will love the sparkly axe. You guys look wonderful. Now you have to get on the chariot soon or it will be paraded through the city without you in it and you would have put those costumes on for nothing!" Sephoria says, chuckling slightly and fighting to keep a smile off of her face.

"Ok Sephie! We wouldn't want that!" I reply, grinning happily and skipping off to the district 7 chariot.

I hear some laughter and look around to see all the other tributes staring at me. A few are smiling and laughing, others have looks of sadness and pity in their eyes, and the others have a predatory gleam in their eyes. I look around again and shrug before skipping the rest of the way to the chariot and climbing into it.

Soul and Sephoria show up a few moments later and Soul climbs up next to me.

"Ok. So remember to smile, pretend that you want to be here. Well, Soul I guess you could glare at everyone, but then you would have to act menacing and I don't think that is an angle you would want to use. So yeah, smile, maybe wave a few times. From what I've heard, you guys have gotten some attention. Lacey, you are the obvious underdog. That and everyone thinks you are adorable. Soul, you are one of the biggest guys here, you look the strongest too. Some people expect you to join the careers and possibly even be their leader, and others believe you are going to be the dangerous loner. You guys have their attention, you just have to keep it," Sephoria says, a serious look on her face.

"Ok Sephie. We won't let you down!" I reply with a bright smile on my face.

Sephoria laughs and says, "Yeah, use that smile."

Soul opens his mouth to say something, but a voice announces that the chariots are about to go out.

"Good luck!" Sephoria yells as we slowly start to move away from her and out into the streets of the Capitol, where millions of bright rich and _loud _Capitol people are waiting to get a look at this years tributes.

**Well… I know it is kind of short compared to chapter two, but I hope you like it anyway. If not… well then sorry. **

**Thanks to those of you who reviewed, it made me smile (NO DEATH THREATS! YAY)**

**Thanks for reading! :D**


	4. Risky Buisness

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! **

**I added a cover photo. It looks almost exactly like I pictured Lacey, but I imagined Lacey's hair to be a little darker. Anyway, I would like to say this again… I don't own the picture. The amazing picture was taken by Tanneke Peetoom, otherwise known as Tanneke Photography. :) I also don't own the song I put in here. That is Clumsy Little heart, and it is sung by the band Every Avenue. :D**

**By the way… I pronounce Styarr like Sty-are. Some people have told me Star… and others pronounce it as Sty-er. I don't really know how it is actually pronounced. (It is an actual name) You can call him whatever you want. :P**

**I hope you like the chapter! It's a short chapter because I spent too much time looking for a cover and I split the chariots in half. That's also why it is late… sorry about that. Next is training… so that should be longer. Would you rather I wrote each training day separately (Three chapters, around the length of chapter 3, and would be up sooner) or would you prefer one chapter for all of the training days (Longer than chapter 2, but would take longer to write. It could possibly no update this weekend)?**

I see colors. No shapes, just blurs of bright colors. I blink and my vision focuses, revealing that those colorful blurs are people; people who are screaming our names and pointing at us. I start to tune out the voices and soon all sounds form together into white noise. I smile brightly and wave a few times. Everyone seems to love me, and I get caught up in the moment. I normally don't like bring the center of attention, but it's actually nice now. All too soon the moment is over and our chariot slowly rolls to stop in front of the president's mansion. The last couple of chariots pull up around us and soon the president steps onto the balcony and begins his long boring speech that I decide to not pay attention to. Instead I look around at all the other tributes.

Flame, the district 1 female, is wearing a really short golden skirt with a belt made of diamonds and a bikini top made of jewels. She has little diamonds in her hair and tall red heels. Her lips are blood red and she is smiling seductively. She looks like the girls Emma always described; I think she called them sluts.

Cameron, the district 1 male, is wearing a golden suit that is diamond encrusted and a tie made of rainbow gems. He is rather short for a career and he is young for one too. I'm guessing he is around 14 years old. He has a smirk on his face and he but he is glaring at his district partner. I have to admit, he would be what I considered good-looking if he wasn't glaring at people. I am still staring at him when he suddenly looks my way and makes eye contact with me. He grins lopsidedly and I want to look away, but I can't will myself to. I blush and soon the other careers, and about half of the other tributes are glancing back and forth between Cameron and I. I smile sheepishly at him and look away, quickly looking at the next tribute, Blair, the district 2 female.

Blair is wearing an Athena costume. It has a long white dress and golden armor. Her dark brown hair is up in a ponytail and she was wearing very little makeup. She has a malicious and bloodthirsty look in her eyes and I quickly looked away from her because she is glaring at me with a menacing smile on her face.

Storm, the district 2 male, is dressed in a golden metal armor skirt and no shirt, which reminded me of a gladiator. He practically radiated pride, confidence and strength. He has a sword by his side and he too is glaring at me while wearing a cruel smile. I swear if he was closer he would have picked his sword up and cut off all my limbs by now.

Sadie, the district three female is wearing a thick strapped dress that stopped just above her knees. It is made from tons of colorful wires and was a little chaotic if you ask me. Her district partner, Evan, is wearing a similar outfit except his is a suit and the tie lit up. He looked pretty bad, since his red hair clashes with the blinding tie and practically makes it impossible to look at him.

Alice, district 4's female tribute, looked extremely uncomfortable in her costume. She is wearing a light blue bikini and has an inner tube around her waist. Her light brown hair is put up into a high ponytail and her bright green eyes are lined with blue eyeliner. She looks really pretty and I can't help but feel slightly jealous of her. She looks about my age, and I begin to wonder if every girl my age from district 4 looks like that.

Before I can finish looking at all the tributes, I hear the President Say, "Have a Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor!" as our chariots are rolled away from the mansion and we are paraded back through the city. Everything is once again a blur of colors and loud noises. I smile and wave until we arrive at a new building, the training center. It's huge and all I can do is stare in awe as our chariot rolls through the giant doors that swing shut behind the district 12 chariot; leaving the loud noise and blinding colors behind.

I hop out of our chariot and blink a few times so that my vision returns to normal. My ears are still ringing and I have a feeling that they aren't going to stop ringing for a while. As I look around, I realize that Sephoria, Evanna, and Styarr aren't here yet. I decide to wait here until they arrive, so I sit down against the wall that is right next to our chariot. Soul must have wandered off somewhere while I wasn't looking. As I wait for my mentor, escort, and stylist to arrive, I sing a song that Emma loved and used to sing all the time.

_Swear she's okay_

_Don't need a witness to her feelings_

_She watches them escape, the good ones get away_

_So cut and paste_

_And the stitches are revealing unraveling this way_

_Makes her feel ashamed._

_All around her people stare as she slowly falls apart_

_Picking up pieces of her clumsy little heart_

_It's hard to know where you're going_

_When you don't know where to start_

_But that's just life, and that's the hardest part_

_That's the hardest part…_

"You are a good singer," an unknown voice says, causing me to jump. I look up and see Cameron leaning against the wall. I blush slightly and stand up slowly.

"Uh…. Thanks?" I reply. I honestly have no idea what else to say. He's a career, why would he even bother talking to me?

He laughs, and somehow knowing what I am think about, he says, "I know you are wondering why I am talking to you. I don't exactly know why I am to be completely honest. I think it's because you seem interesting… or maybe it's the fact that you are cute and dressed as Little Red Riding Hood."

I laugh, blushing again as I say, "Me? Interesting? I don't know how you got that idea, but I'm glad you decided to come over here. You seem nice."

He chuckles quietly and smirks, something scary flashing in his eyes. I take a step back but unfortunately realize that I am now against a wall and that we are completely out of everyone's sight. He closes the space between us and puts an arm on the wall on both sides of me. He smirks again and whispers, "I seem…. Nice? I think that you need to rethink that Lacey. I am a career after all. I'm one of your biggest competitors, and you need to remember that you aren't exactly strong enough to fight me. You aren't even strong enough to fight Alice. I don't want to hurt you, but you need to remember one thing. I'm not _nice. _Don't ever call me nice. Ok?"

I really want to laugh at him, or to show him exactly how strong I am, but I remind myself that I have to stay in character, so I widen my eyes in 'fear' and nod quickly.

He smirks and takes a step back, winking at me before walking away. I watch him until he turns around a corner and is out of sight. I smirk and chuckle. He will be in for a big surprise in the arena…

I take a minute to get back into character before I walk out from behind the chariot. At the same time, Styarr, Sephoria, and Evanna walk into the room. I grin and skip over to them, causing several people to stare at me. I guess I should get used to that, it happens pretty often.

"Hey guys! How did I do? It was so much fun! My ears won't stop ringing though… capitol people are loud! Have you seen Soul? He wandered off somewhere and I haven't seen him for a while…" I say, talking fast enough that my words start to blur together.

"Whoa whoa slow down Lacey! You did amazing, the people love you! Soul went to our floor. Come on now, it's getting late and you need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is the first day of training." Sephoria says.

"Ok Sephie! I'm tired anyways… and I can't wait for tomorrow, training will be fun! I think I'm going to start with climbing, or maybe camouflage. Camouflage is like painting right? Oh I love painting! Maybe I should learn to throw a knife. Knives are so cool! What do you think Sephie? I mean, you are my mentor after all, it's your job to tell me what to focus on, right?" I ask, trying to speak slower but failing.

Sephoria chuckles and answers my question by saying, "Yes, it's my job. I'll tell you what to focus on in the morning. Now let's go to our floor."

I nod and start skipping down the hall.

"Lacey! That isn't the right hallway! Let me lead." Sephoria shouts.

"Oh," I say, blushing slightly before adding, "Oopsy."

I walk back to them and follow Sephoria down a different hall which leads to a flight of stairs. I grin and start running up the stairs before stopping and turning around just as Evanna and Styarr groan.

"I think we will go take the elevator. You two have fun with the stairs." Styarr says as he turns to leave.

Sephoria laughs and replies, "Ok, you go do that." Then she turns and starts running up the stairs after me.

Seven flights of stairs later she stops and opens up a door which leads to what I am assuming is our floor. I walk through the door right after she does and almost instantly stop walking, which leads to me getting hit by the door.

Our floor is so fancy! I don't really want to touch anything because it all just looks so perfect and I feel like anything I touch would break. Everything is a shade of green or brown, and it feels so inviting and it reminds me of home. I shake my head and step through the doorway, finally letting the door swing shut. It closes loudly and echoes through the room, making me jump slightly.

"Your room is the fourth one on the left. It's hard to miss. I'd be careful though, I think that Evanna redecorated it just for you," Sephoria says, chuckling while saying the last part.

I nod and walk down the hall until I reach the fourth door. She was right, it _is _hard to miss. Evanna put 'Lacey' on the door in glittery swirly letters and covered the rest of the door in pink hearts and unicorns.

I groan and open the door slowly, and I'm not exactly surprised to find that it looks like a glitter bomb exploded in my room. The walls are painted a sparkly light pink with a border that has fairies and unicorns on it. The floor is white and the ceiling is a giant painting of a unicorn galloping across a rainbow, which happens to be in a pink sky. The bed is covered in pink fluffy pillows and has unicorn plush animals on it. I really want to rip everything to shreds, but without turning around I know that someone is watching me. So instead of banging my head off the wall like I want to, I hop up and down and clap, giggling as I spin in circles. The person laughs and I instantly recognize that it is Soul who is watching me act like a six year old. I stop spinning and face Soul, still grinning.

"Hey Soul! I love my room, don't you? It's so colorful and sparkly and pretty!" I say in the girly voice that I have now perfected, giggling quietly at the end. _Oh god I should tone it down a little before I throw up._

"Yeah sure. It's really… _interesting _I guess. I just wanted to say goodnight. Good luck sleeping in here… it's so bright, too bright for a room if you ask me." He says, glancing around the room slowly.

I shrug and say, "I don't think it should be too hard. Besides, the bed is really fluffy so that should make things easier."

"If you say so. Anyway, goodnight Lacey. I'll see you at training tomorrow."

"Night Soul! See ya in the morning!" I call out, giggling again.

He rolls his eyes and shuts the door. I get up and go to the bathroom, shower quickly, and change into a white tank top and pink fuzzy shorts. I fasten my necklace around my neck, the weight of it making me smile. I then creep out into the hall and to the stairs, walking up them quietly until I reach the top. Sephoria had told me all about the roof, and it seems like the perfect place to be alone. I'm still going to train at night in the training center, but tonight I just need a calm place to strategize, and being outside always helps me think. I open the door that leads to the rooftop slowly and quietly, freezing almost instantly because there are voices. At the moment, a male is talking. I instantly recognize the voice as Cameron's, and I realize that the careers are having a meeting up here. Slowly, I slip through the door and shut it silently behind me. The wind covers any little noises that I possibly make, and I'm really grateful for that. Being caught spying on the careers would be bad. I look around for a hiding place, quickly deciding to climb on top of the roof of the stairwell. I climb silently and lay down flat, making me impossible to see from below. Of course, I can't see what the careers are up to, but I really only need to be able to hear.

I stay completely still, not making any sounds at all, listening to their conversation. Well, half listening, I mean, I don't really need to listen to them brag about how amazing they looked in the tribute parade. I can easily identify Flame, Cameron, Blair, Storm, and Sebastian, but I don't hear Alice. She's a career too, so why isn't she up here with them? I continue to only partially listen to their conversation until they say something that grabs my attention.

"So Cameron, what do you think of Lacey? I mean, you two were staring at each other during the tribute parade. Do you like her?" Flame asks.

Cameron chuckles and says, "She's interesting… and she's cute I guess. Cute isn't the right word. Angelic maybe? She's got that sweet and innocent look. Then there is something else… I can't figure it out. I think that's what interests me. I can usually read people pretty easily, but I can't figure her out. I have a feeling that she's hiding something. If she wasn't so young and little, I'd say that she was hiding a secret talent, but I overheard her mentor talking to her escort, apparently Lacey has known her mentor for years now. She is as weak and little as she looks. I don't know…. Maybe I do like her. I'd say that I have a crush on her, but half the time I'm thinking about how wonderful it would be to torture her to death. I talked to her earlier, after the tribute parade. She's a really good singer, but she's more childish than I had expected. She called me nice. No one calls me nice. She also gets terrified really easily, I scared her and I doubt that she will be talking to me again."

I have to bite my arm to keep myself from laughing. Cameron, the district one male, a career, is crushing… on me. I find it funnier that he thinks he scared me; my acting skills must be really good.

"Oh my god! Cameron you totally like her! Cameron and Lacey sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I…" Flame sings out, getting cut off by someone punching her. "OW! Cameron calm down, I'm just messing with you."

Just then, the door to the roof swings open and I assume everyone turns to face the newcomer.

"Well well well… look who showed up! Sorry, you weren't invited. Unless you want to get humiliated, I suggest you leave." Blair says, chuckling darkly at the end.

"No. I need to talk to you. I think I could be a good addition to the career pack. I'm strong, fast, I know all about plants and medicine; I know how to hunt down animals… and people. I can throw a spear, and I could easily kill a person without a weapon. I'm your biggest competition, so why not add me to your group and make me an ally instead of an enemy?" The unknown voice says. The only thing I get from this is that the person is a male.

"We don't need any more allies. The career pack is already big enough. So why don't you fu-" Sebastian starts to say, but is cut off by someone else saying, "Let him stay. If he is as good as he says he is, then we have a good ally. When we are in training, we can find out if he is bluffing or not. If he is lying, then he becomes our main target and we kill him during the bloodbath. If he betrays us, then we hunt him down and torture him to death. If he thinks he's good enough to join us, then we should give him a chance. He could make the career pack stronger than it has ever been." The person who spoke is a young female, speaking quietly and softly, but the whole career pack stopped talking and listened to her. It has to be Alice, but why does she have so much respect from the rest of the careers?

"Ok. You can stay; Alice seems to think you are a good addition to the group. Who are you exactly?" Storm asks.

"I'm Brandon from district 6." The boy replies.

"Alright Brandon, we have some things that we still need to discuss. You start training with us tomorrow, we will see you then." Storm says and Brandon runs off of the roof, the door slamming shut behind him.

"She speaks! I was honestly starting to doubt if you ever talked Alice. It also seems like you can judge people well, and you are good at reasoning. There is something you could do that would really help out. I need you to figure out everything you can about the other tributes. Try to figure out who our biggest competitors are, and who is going to be easy to kill. Anyone that you think could be useful… and also, spend some extra time trying to figure out certain people, I'll tell you who at the end of the night. Can you do that?" Blair asks. I'm going to assume that she is the leader of the careers.

"Yeah I can. It should be easy." Alice says, laughing quietly.

Hours later they have worked out a strategy, given Alice of list of tributes to spend extra time trying to figure out, and separated all the tributes into two groups, easy targets and biggest competition. They decided that Alice needs to try to figure out everything about Soul, Brandon, Sadie, Skye, Xena, Scarlette, Axel, Jasper, Munro, Elora, and, most importantly, me. I'm only on the list because of Cameron, and I'm only most important because he wants to know everything about me. I swear I'm tempted to tell him to fuck off and that I don't like him… but that would ruin my character. I listen as Alice reads the two lists aloud. Apparently Soul is their biggest competitor, and I'm the easiest target. If only they knew just how wrong they were….

Soon they leave and after a few minutes I climb down, walk back to the district 7 floor, crawl into bed, and quickly fall asleep.

**Well that's the chapter! I'm sorry that its a few days late… don't kill me!**

**Review? Maybe… possibly? It would make me happy! Thanks to all of you who have reviewed the first three chapters.**

**I'll hopefully have the next chapter up in a week… but I need to know which way you would prefer for me to write training. :) **

**Thanks again!**


	5. Complicated Girl

**I am so sorry! I know it has been forever. I have a ton of excuses, but they don't really matter. Here is a virtual knife; you can kill me if you really want to. Anyway, I realize that schoolwork is getting in the way of my writing, so unfortunately I won't be able to update very often (more often than this, but not as much as I used to). **

**I don't own The Hunger Games. JUST SAYING. **

**Ok, so I decided to do each day separately, and nights will have separate chapters. Here is what my plan for the next couple of chapters looks like:**

**-Training Day 1**

**-Training Night 1**

**-Training Day 2**

**-Training Night 2**

**-Training Day and Night 3**

**-Private Sessions and Training Scores.**

**We will see what happens, but that's the plan for the moment. Anyway, SORRY THAT IT TOOK SO LONG! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I love you all! I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

The next morning I once again wake up to loud banging on the door and really high pitched yelling. I roll over in my bed and glance at the glowing red numbers that the digital clock on the table beside my bed is display. 3:50. Seriously? Why is Evanna trying to wake me up at 3:50 in the morning? I know that she may like being ahead of schedule, but I don't like be woken up early in the morning when training doesn't even start until 7. No one needs 3 hours to get ready in the morning; that just would be absurd! I groan and roll onto my stomach and cover my head with a pillow. When that doesn't work, I sit up and call out, "Come in!"

Evanna opens the door and smiles before saying, "I just wanted to remind you that training starts at 10, so you have 6 hours until then."

I stare at her with a look of shock on my face. Did she seriously bang on my door and scream at me at 4 in the morning just so she could say that training starts at 10? I can handle everything other annoying thing that she does, but this is too far. She just can't do this and get away with it. I know that it's a bad idea, but I want, no need to make her regret doing that. As hard as I try, I can't prevent myself from breaking out of my act. I take a deep breath and smile sweetly.

"Okay! Thanks for reminding me! I totally forgot. I mean, if you didn't tell me now I surely would have been late. It's not like there is an annoying freak who always wants to be on time on this floor that would have woken me up. That's just crazy, right? Anyway I'm going back to sleep now, but before I do, can I have a hug?" I say in a sickeningly sweet and girly voice.

She grins and replies, "Why of course you can sweetie!"

She walks into the room and holds her arms out. I run over to her and hug her tightly, placing my foot behind hers. When she turns to walk away her foot catches on mine and she squeals loudly as she trips, hitting the floor with a thump. I quickly jump on her and pin her hands behind her back. She may be bigger than me but she's a Capitol person, and they are all just weak and pathetic. I yawn and hold her wrists in one hand, using the other to grab the thin sheet from my bed. I tie her hands together tightly behind her back and pull her ridiculous headband down and use it as a gag. As I stand up, I can't help but smirk. Realizing that the door is still wide open, I shut it quickly and lock it. Evanna looks absolutely terrible and I giggle girlishly and clap my hands, which makes her eyes widen in fear.

I pull her up into a kneeling position and sit down in front of her. I then smile innocently and say, "Are you comfy? If I had known that you were coming over early, I would have prepared more! Maybe next time you could warn me… I promise that I'll have the proper materials on hand if you do. I wasn't planning on doing this; it puts my reputation on the line." I frown slightly before continuing, "Sometimes I just get so grouchy in the mornings, especially when Capitol freaks like you wake me up at four in the morning just to say that I have to be ready by ten. It seems kind of ridiculous, don't ya think? I mean, you could have just woke me up at nine to say that. But you, being the stupid brain-washed Capitol person that you are, didn't think of that. You just had to be the one that thinks reminding a person in the middle of the night is a good idea. What if I was a violent person? I could have easily beaten you to death, leaving bruises and all over your plastic skin. I could have hidden you and pretended like nothing happened. No one would find you for weeks if that happened." I giggled quietly and stared at her, a look of mock terror on my face.

I smirked as she started crying. This was just so much fun! I pretended to think for a moment before having a fake moment of realization. I looked at her wide-eyed as I said, "Wait… I just remembered. I am a violent person! OMG you are trapped in a room with me and you can't get away! Oh gee, that's quite a predicament that you are in." I laughed darkly and reached out to touch her face, wiping her tears away as I whisper, "But don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. It's too big of a risk for me to take. I'll just save that for after I come out of the arena as a victor. They can't execute their precious victor, can they? It would make all the silly Capitol people very sad. I can't kill you now, but maybe I can… remind you of this? Or maybe warn you not to wake me up at four in the morning ever again? Oh I know! I can warn you and leave you a reminder of what I've said. What do ya think? Do you like that idea? Since you can't talk, just nod or shake your head."

I grin maliciously as she shakes her head and tries to get away from me. She just makes this too easy, doesn't she? This is what I've needed to do ever since I met her. It's also a good way for me to keep the act up around everyone else later today. I pretend to pout and then "Well that's a shame. I was hoping you'd like my idea. You are just so hard to please! Here's the thing though, I'm going to do what I want, and you aren't going to tell anybody about it. If you do I'll just make them believe that you are crazy, ok?"

I giggle happily and let my eyes light up as I stand up and circle around her slowly. What should I do now? I can't make it too big otherwise people will start asking questions. I grin as I finally decide what I am going to do, walking over to the desk and looking for a specific object. When I finally find what I am looking for, a paperweight about the size of my fist, I turn around and skip over to where Evanna is kneeling. I hold the paperweight in front of her face and she panics, crying and thrashing, trying to break free of her confinements. I take a few steps back and yawn, a look of boredom crossing my face as I casually flick my wrist, sending the paperweight flying through the air. Moments later it collides with her stomach forcefully, causing her to scream into her gag and double over. I smile sweetly and kneel next to her, wiping away the tears that are streaming down her face before hugging her tightly.

"That wasn't so bad was it? I could do so much worse, but I'm going to let you off easy this time. After all, this was just a warning for you. Don't cry sweetie! It's all over now. You can't tell anyone about this though, otherwise it will make me very sad and I will have to tell them that you are just going crazy. You don't want to make me sad, do you?" I say to her in a baby voice, rubbing her back soothingly as I slowly untie her hands. "If anyone asks, which they won't because I hit your stomach, you tell them that you ran into the counter in the kitchen, ok?" I ask her, even though it's not really a question. She nods and a smile innocently and reply, "Goodie! Now I'll remove the gag if you promise not to scream. That would put us in a very awkward situation!"

She nods once again and I remove the gag from her mouth. "Now get out of here," I say before adding, "In case you couldn't tell, I don't like you."

Without saying a word, Evanna runs out the door and shuts it silently behind her. I laugh darkly and lay down on my bed so I can try to go back to sleep. Discovering that I can't, I get up and go to the closet to pick out the clothes I am going to wear today. I quickly locate my training outfit and pull it out, examining it closely as I do. I don't know what the outfits looked like in other years, but I'm going to guess that they didn't look like this.

My training outfit is a black tank top with two bright green stripes running down the sides. The back has my last name, Lockhart, on it and a big 7 which is also green. Matching the top is a short black skirt that also has green stripes running down the sides. The outfit comes with stretchy black shorts to go under the skirt and a bright green headband. I groan quietly. Evanna must have had something to do with this. Because of her I am going to look absolutely ridiculous in training! Although that isn't such a bad thing since I'm trying to look pathetic. I just hope all the other girls have the same training outfits.

I quickly go take a shower, being careful to avoid the sparkly soaps and shampoos, and the put the outfit on. I pull my hair back in a ponytail and smile. Even in mostly black, I look innocent and childish. I brush my teeth and then go back into my room to check the time. It's six o'clock already, so I either spent a lot of time with Evanna or I took a really long shower. I put my necklace on and skip out of the room. When I come across Evanna, I smile and say in the girly voice that I perfected on my first day here, "Hey Evanna! You are up early! I would still be sleeping, but I couldn't fall back asleep after I got woken up. I can't remember how I got woken up though… Anyway, do you know if breakfast is ready? I want to talk to Sephoria and then go down to training a bit early. Do you think they would let me?"

When she doesn't answer right away, I blink my eyes a few times and smile a little brighter as I say, "What's the matter? You look like you just saw a ghost! Don't worry; I'm sure everything will be fine!"

She looks at me and blinks before replying, "I think breakfast is ready, and I'm sure it is fine to go to training early as long as you don't touch anything." She stutters a few times while she is talking and refuses to look at me. I hug her tightly and say, "Ok! I'm gonna do that!" I quickly skip down the hall and fight the urge to smirk or start laughing.

Breakfast goes by quickly and is very uneventful. No one shows up while I am eating but I can feel someone watching me and I automatically know that Evanna is peeking at me from around the corner. She is so scared that she completely forgot to wake up Soul. I finish up my breakfast just as I was beginning to get a little creeped out by her constant stare and walk out of the room to the stairs, running down them as I reach the place I've been looking forward to the most since my arrival, the training room. Why have I been looking forward to it? I get to learn tons about my competitors here, and at night I get to work on my own skills. What's not to love?

When I first enter I hear voices, very familiar voices actually. The Careers are already here. This time I'm not going to hide from them, I'm sure they heard the door anyway. No, this time I'm going to talk to them, and be 'afraid' of them. I'm glad I got some of my anger out this morning otherwise I wouldn't be able to put on a fake smile and skip into the room.

The Careers stop talking when they see me and a smile spreads slowly on all of their faces. Now I know this sounds nice, I mean, they are smiling, that's a sign of friendliness, right? No, the Careers smiles are scary, predatorial, and are the kinds of smiles that will haunt your dreams at night. I widen my eyes slightly, not quite sure if I'm pretending to be afraid or if I actually am afraid. They look scary, but then I remember who they are. They are teenagers, they came from the districts just like I did, and they all just want to go back home. They are just like me in a lot of ways, and at the moment, they can't hurt me.

I stand there, completely frozen in my spot. (Well… not really, but I'm starting to believe that I'm actually afraid when I'm acting.) Flame walks up to me and looks at me for a few minutes as if she is judging me. Then, she holds her hand out to me. I slowly grab it and shake it.

She smiles brightly and says, "Hi I'm Flame! And you are?"

I continue to stare at her wide-eyed for a few moments before muttering, "My name is Lacey" and dropping my gaze to the floor.

"Oh! So you're Lacey! I've heard quite a bit you! You seem a bit shy but I can promise you, even though we are Careers, we don't bite… much" She said with a wink. Behind her all the other Careers start laughing.

"Hey Flame! Speak for yourself, I bite a lot," Storm called out laughing.

Blair walked up to us and tapped the underside of my chin so I looked up at her. She smirked and whispered, "Tell me, do you bite?"

I squeaked quietly and then replied, "No… no, I don't think so."

Blair grinned and then said in a slightly menacing tone, "Well then I suggest you learn to…. before it's too late. The only time being the predator is fun, is when the prey fights back."

I tried to take a step back and discovered that there was a person behind me. I squeaked again and jumped before turning around to face the person. Storm was standing behind me with a knife that he picked up off the rack behind him. He grabbed my arm and when I tried to get away, he let go suddenly, and I ended up tripping. I curl up in a ball and pretend to cry. I look up through my hands and see Flame, Blair, Storm, and Sebastian circling around me with blood-thirsty looks on their faces.

Thank goodness my laughing sounds and looks like my crying if you can't see my face, otherwise I'd be screwed and my plan would be ruined before training even started. I'd have to find a completely new strategy, and I somehow doubt any new plan could be nearly as effective or successful as my current one. If I want my act to go unnoticed, I am going to have to act through some embarrassing situations, this one being a great example of that. Do you honestly think I want to be curled up in a ball between 4, wait; now 5 since Brandon joined the circle, bloody-thirsty Careers? No. I really don't, I honestly want to stand up now and show them that I'm not as pathetic as they think I am. I know I shouldn't do that though, so I continue to lay on the ground and 'cry' as they get closer and closer. I'm not sure how long this continues, but eventually I hear Cameron and Alice both yell out, "STOP! You guys could get in so much trouble for doing this."

Just as the five of them are about to step back, a new voice booms out, loud, clear, and filled with authority, "Just what do you guys think you are doing? Of all people, I didn't expect the Careers to be the ones to break the rules. Aren't you guys the Capitol's little lap dogs? You guys always do what they want. And seriously? I mean, I know you guys like watching people suffer, but even you can't truly be heartless enough to enjoy this. Look at her. She isn't even 5 feet tall. She reminds me of an 8 year old. I don't know about you, but I think it's just wrong to pick on little children. Save it for the Games, she'll be an easy target then, and then you won't seem as monstrous as you do now." The person sighs before continuing, "And besides, the trainers are going to be here any minute, I don't think you want to face the punishments that they give for breaking their rules. Do you remember Collin from the 28th Hunger Games? He was from district one. He broke the rules, cornered the girl from 5 and held a knife to her throat. As punishment, they broke his left kneecap and blinded him in his right eye. He was the first career ever to die in the bloodbath, and he was killed by a 12 year old girl from 9. Total disaster for district 1 that year. Do you remember who won? The girl from 5, that's who. So just think about what you are doing before you all just become disgraces to your districts, ok?"

Everyone slowly backs away with completely shocked looks on their faces before approaching the new person and talking to him in hushed tones. Unfortunately, I can't hear a word they are saying from here, and the line of Careers is blocking my view of the person that walked in. I get up and crawl over to the corner, hugging my knees to my chest and staring at the Careers with wide eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Alice and Cameron talking to each other and glancing at me often. After a minute or so of this, Alice gets up and approaches me slowly, almost as if I am a frightened animal that will run off at any second. Now that I think about it, that's probably what I look like. I watch her curiously as she sits down next to me.

I shake slightly and look at her with wide eyes as I whisper, "You… You aren't gonna hurt me… are you?" She shakes her head quickly and hugs me.

"I'm Alice. And yes, I am a Career, but I'm not like them. I'm not bloodthirsty, ya know? I promise I won't hurt you… Lacey right?" She says in a calm voice. She sounds so sweet and sincere… but I don't trust her. She said so herself, she is a Career. I have to keep my guard up. I nod and look at her curiously before asking, "If you aren't bloodthirsty… then why are you with the Careers?"

She chuckles and replies, "I'm with them because they need me, and I'm less likely to get killed if I stick with them."

I get lost in thought after that, and she seems to notice that, so she gets up and leaves me alone in the corner once again to think. If she is useful to the Careers, useful enough to ensure her safety, then maybe I should reconsider her spot on the list. I'm still thinking about new spots on the list when someone clears their throat and shakes my shoulder lightly.

I jump slightly, moving further into the corner in the process and stare at the person who interrupted my thoughts. They are one of the younger male tributes and he has jet black hair and brilliant green eyes that are looking at me with a mixture of worry, fear… and something else that I can't quite place. He is holding his wrist tightly and I realize that I must have hit it against the wall when I jumped. I blush lightly and take a deep breath before saying, "Hi… I'm sorry about your wrist. Are you okay?"

He blinks, as if he is surprised that I actually said something. He looks down at his wrist and then back up at me before grinning one of those boyish grins and replying, "Yeah I'm fine, though I have to admit that I didn't expect that. You are stronger than you look. Anyway, I'm surprised you responded, you've been staring off into space for like, 10 minutes and I thought you were ignoring me. If you don't mind me asking, what were you thinking about? I swear I could almost hear the gears turning in your head, so it had to be something big."

I grin sheepishly at him before answering, "Well, actually I wasn't really thinking about anything in particular. I tend to do that often. I get lost in my thoughts, but I'm not thinking about anything. I don't know. I know I sound completely crazy now... Anyway, since you snapped me out of my thoughts, I'm guessing you want to say something. What's up?"

He laughs, it's a loud and carefree laugh and I can't help it, I honestly think I could listen to that all day. "Pretty and smart, huh? Well hang on a second Little Red, I'm getting there. Gotta work up my ego again after getting hurt by a girl," he says teasingly, laughing again before adding, "I know your real name isn't Little Red, but I'm going to call you that whether you like it or not. I don't think I'm the only one calling you by a nickname, so don't be surprised when people call you that. You make the perfect Little Red Riding Hood,so it only makes sense that it would stick around as your nickname. Either that, or I heard the nickname Angel for you. So... Little Red Angel? Seems... Fitting almost."

I blush again before smiling. "Seriously? Little Red Angel? Aren't Angels supposed to wear all white? I like just Little Red better, but I'd prefer Lacey. I umm... Honestly don't know your name. I think it's either Jagger or... Munro?" I laugh for a moment and hit his arm lightly before saying, "And stop stalling; you are gonna run out of time! Training is going to start soon!"

He pretends to be hurt and rubs his arm lightly before replying, "Alright, alright! Geez woman, Stop hurting me! It's Jagger, by the way. I'm from district 10. And if I remember correctly, you, Little Red, are from district 7. Anyway, I came over here to ask if you wanted to train with me today. You can say no, but I really want to. Maybe we could form an alliance or something. Again you can say no. Oh and now that I think about it, I have a question I need to ask you. In private. Ummm yeah. So what do you say?"

I blink and he looks down at his shoes, a light blush spreading across his face. After considering it for a moment, I say, "Yeah sure! Sounds like fun!"

He lets out a breath that I didn't realize he was holding in and grins brightly at me, standing up and offering me a hand which I gladly accept. He tugs on my arm and I stumble forward, almost losing my balance and falling back to the ground. He laughs and puts his hand on my shoulder to steady me. Once I have gained my balance, I skip over to where the rest of the tributes are starting to gather, dragging Jagger along behind me. When we reach the area, I can't help but notice that Cameron is staring at Jagger with a look of pure hatred while the rest of the careers are looking at me, except Alice, who is looking at Cameron with a worried expression on her face. Feeling intimidated by the Careers' glares, I slowly shift spots so I am behind Jagger to some degree and he grips my hand tightly, obviously knowing what is bothering me. The Careers look at each other and then over to us, and I know that they are planning to come over and confront us. Others in the circle seem to notice it too, and they slowly move away from Jagger and me. Just when I think I am going to have to face them again (and I really don't want to), two people come up and stand by us. One I instantly recognize as Soul and I run over to him and start crying, because that's what he obviously expects me to do. I hide behind him, which is really easy to do since I am so small. Jagger gives me a quizzical look before shaking it off and joining me by Soul.

The other person... I don't really know who they are. I mean, I know that it's Jasper, district 8's male tribute, but I don't understand what he is doing. That is, until he starts to talk.

"Seriously? Why are you guys picking on some of the youngest people here? Have you really become that desperate already? We already went this. It's wrong to harass the little children, especially when it is quite obvious that they don't like you. So just leave them alone, got it? Save it for the Arena."

I can't help but smile. Jasper seriously has the Careers speechless, just like he had done earlier. He saved me from another confrontation and I'm grateful for that. I don't think I could have curled up in a ball and cried some more. I'm guessing that I'm lost in my own thoughts again because I feel a tug on my hand, but I don't really respond to it. Soon I am dragged out of the circle and someone shakes my shoulders gently. I hear someone calling my name, but it sounds distant. The person begins to shake me roughly, making me feel like a little rag doll that is being thrown around. The voices get louder as well and finally, I blink and focus on the person in front of me. I stare into Soul's worried grey eyes for a moment before glancing around the room which makes me notice that everyone is looking at me with either worried or amused looks on their faces. I open my mouth to say something but before I can even start speaking, Soul exclaims, "Lacey! What the hell is going on between you and the Careers? They look like they want to kill you! Are you okay?"

I stare at him warily for a few minutes, trying to come up with a good explanation that won't give away the fact that I had spied on them last night. Finally deciding on a good answer, I say slowly in a voice filled with innocence and fear, "They want to kill me Soul! I'm so small and an easy target and they are the Careers! They almost hurt me earlier… I'm so scared Soul!" I trail off at the end and bury my head in his chest, almost as if not being able to see the Careers would make them go away.

I look up again and notice that the eyes staring down at me are that brilliant shade of green that I have decided is one of my favorite colors. I study his eyes carefully, not quite sure what I was looking for. I notice that there are little specks of blue, yellow, and oddly enough, silver in his eyes. It's a really beautiful color, and I'm instantly jealous of Jagger because I wish my eyes looked like that. I don't know how long we stood there, or when Jagger had replaced Soul, but soon the clicking of high heeled shoes can be heard and our trainer walks into the room. I slowly untangle myself from Jagger's arms and turn to face her, wiping my tears away.

"Hello tributes! I am Althea Perthshire and I am the head trainer this year," she says in a loud, authoritative voice that resonates to all corners of the training center. She pauses for a minute before adding; "Now before we begin I would like go over a few rules and give you some advice. As most of you know, there are three training days before the private sessions. What you do on these three days could be the difference between life and death when you enter the Arena. I suggest you try all the stations at least once, especially the survival stations. In the last few years, over 50% of the tributes died from natural causes. You never know what the arena will be like this year, so it is best to be prepared for any possible situation. Use your time wisely, discover what you are good at and make allies. They could change your odds in the Arena. At each station there will be a master, or an expert who will be able to help you. Now for the rules. You are not allowed to attack or physically harm any other tribute. Do not attack the experts, they are here to help. You aren't allowed to threaten or force others to do what you say. Failure to comply with these rules will result in severe punishments that can, and will, lower your chances of survival in the arena. Good luck young tributes, may the odds be ever in your favor." With that, she walks away and leaves us to train with the 'masters'.

There are a few moments when no one moves, but soon the careers run off to play with weapons and everyone else slowly drifts off to other stations. I turn to Jagger, noticing that Soul went to the ax station. Figures, you want to start in your comfort zone and work your way out of it slowly.

I look around for a minute before asking, "So… where do you want to go first?"

He shrugs, "Anywhere away from the Careers. I don't think that would work out well. Umm, how about knot tying?"

I grin and reply, "Ok! I'll race ya!" before running off to the knot tying station, sitting down just seconds before Jagger does. I laugh as he pretends to be sad, which earns us a glare from the teacher at this station. Soon we are learning to tie knots. It's a skill I already know well, so while the man goes over the steps to making a few simple knots, I observe the other tributes silently, judging a few on a certain skill before turning back to my knot and catching up on the last couple of steps. Jagger seems to notice that I am often a few steps behind, but I think he assumes that I am spacing out.

After an hour of knot tying, Jagger and I have a few complicated knots perfected and I have gained a bit of information on the other tributes' strengths and weaknesses. We move on to camouflage, which I seem to be good at. Jagger, however, can't manage to get the colors right, so he always ends up looking kind of ridiculous, which he seems to be okay with. I eventually occupy myself by painting my arm rainbow colors while he tries to match the tree. Before he can, Lunch is called and we all slowly leave the training room.

Lunch goes by quickly and is fairly uneventful. Soul went to sit with Jasper from 8, Sadie from 3, Axel from 5, Axel's district partner Skye, and Scarlett from 11. The six of them worry me a little. Besides the Careers, they are some of the biggest competition at the moment, and with a group that large, they could be dangerous. I would be extremely concerned, but I know that Soul will protect me instead of joining that group, so I don't really have a reason to be too worried. The Careers sit together and alternate between staring down tributes and laughing extremely loud. I swear they are getting on my last nerve. I really want to just strangle them all so they will stop laughing. A few other small groups have formed, but nothing else of major importance… yet.

After lunch, Jagger and I go to a few more survival skill stations. By the end of training day 1, we have covered knot tying, camouflage, plant identification (I think we agreed to re-visit that later, it's important), shelter building, and first aid (which we also agreed to re-visit). Tomorrow we plan on finishing with all the survival stations and moving on to physical stations that don't require weapons such as climbing, agility, the ropes course, and the gauntlet. I am satisfied with what we accomplished, and I have to admit that I like Jagger more than I expected to… as a friend, of course. When the time comes I'll kill him, but still, I didn't expect to make any friends here.

As we are walking out of the training center, I suddenly remember something from this morning. I tap Jagger on the shoulder before grabbing his hand and leading him down an empty hallway. I turn around and face him, quickly saying, "This morning you said you wanted to talk to me in private, what did you want to talk about?"

He blushes then looks at his feet and replies, "Oh! I did… right. Ummm… it's nothing. In all honesty, I forgot. Goodnight! I'll see you tomorrow!" He then runs past me and back towards the group.

Well, that was officially odd. I shrug it off and rejoin the group quickly. When I reach floor seven, I instantly make up an excuse about being exhausted and run off to my room. It's six, and I'm guessing I can't start practicing until eleven, so that gives me five hours to sleep. I quickly set my alarm for eleven, change into my pajamas, and slip into bed. I lie there, thinking about everything and nothing all at once until my eyelids flutter shut and I slowly fall asleep.

**That's the chapter! Oooooh, what's going on between Jagger and Lacey? What does Jagger want to say, but is too afraid to? I hoped you enjoyed! Since its Thanksgiving break (almost), I hope to have some extra time to write. My goal is to have the next chapter up on Sunday. It will be a shorter chapter though, most likely. If you hated my chapter, then use the virtual knife I gave you earlier and throw it at me, or review saying you hated it and then laugh evilly when I start to cry. :P Please review and tell me what you think! Reviews make my day, encourage me to write, and help me improve my writing! If you don't tell me about a mistake I am making, I will likely make the same mistake again and then that makes you angry enough to throw virtual knives at me… and that doesn't end well. **

**Any Questions? If so send them as reviews or PM me! **

**Shelby**


	6. Until I Get Caught Red Handed

**Okay, so I discovered over break that more time at home actually equals _less_ writing time. :( My parents apparently believe that breaks equal family bonding time, so instead of getting to write like I had planned, I got to play board games with my parents and watch movies, one of which was about a boy and a girl who switched bodies. :S I ALMOST DIED BECAUSE IT WAS TERRIBLE! and then I cried a little because I was feeling the need to write and my parents WOULDN'T LET ME! Just kidding, I just started acting all bitchy XD. **

**ANYWAY, here is the chapter, almost a week late... SORRY! Oh and here is a box of matches, feel free to burn down my house while I'm sleeping because you are that mad at me. (Just kidding...)  
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**Originally, this had a completely evil cliff hanger at the end, but I changed it so the scene doesn't even exist anymore. Fair warning though, once I get to the actually games, expect some cliff hangers. XD I hope you enjoy it!  
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**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN THE HUNGER GAMES! :O  
**

I wake up and blink, expecting to hear some sort of buzzing or screeching, but I am only met with silence. It's kind of creepy, I mean, I'm in the Capitol, and in the Capitol there is no such thing as silence. Yet, here I am, waking up to complete and utter silence. I glance at my clock. 10:56. No wonder I am waking up to silence; I have four minutes before my alarm goes off. Thinking that I should try to be as quiet as possible, I quickly turn off the alarm and walk into the bathroom, where I already have laid out the clothes I am planning to wear for tonight's training. I pull on the simple outfit I picked out earlier: a plain white tank top, black running shorts, tennis shoes, and a gray zip-up jacket. I pull my hair back in a pony tail, and when I look in the mirror, I can't help but smile. For the first time since I came to this wretched place, I don't look weak or fragile or girly. If someone passed by me, I could easily make myself look that way, it's quite simple actually. All I would have to do is widen my eyes slightly and replace my current smirk with my girly smile. Somehow, I doubt I am going to run into anyone though. It's the middle of the night and the others are too stupid to think of night training. Night time strategizing on the roof has been done before, but I think I am the first one to train during the night.

Silently, I slip out of my room, shutting my door slowly behind me so that I can make sure that it won't slam shut and wake everyone up. I walk down the halls and tip-toe down the stairs, being extra cautious since every sound echoes loudly in the stairwell, even the drop of a pin would sound like you dropped a giant rock. Okay, so maybe I am exaggerating a little, but the point is that any sound I make could potentially wake someone up, and I don't want that. Sighing in relief as I exit the stair well, I enter the Training Center and look around, checking to make sure that I am truly alone. Positive that I am, in fact, alone, I run over to the weapons corner and stare at the wall they have dedicated to weapons. Any weapon you could possibly want, from at least 100 different knives to more obscure ones like bull whips and sledge hammers, they have it all. I know it makes me sound completely blood-thirsty, sadistic, and insane, I can picture using a different weapon to kill every tribute… except I'm having difficulties doing so for Jagger and Alice. I'm sure I will get over that, but for now, I guess I can live with the fantasies of killing the rest of them. It's not that I really want to kill other people, it's more like I want to come back alive so I can continue to live… for my family, and I really would like to get revenge on the Capitol for both killing my family and attempting to kill me. They will soon regret the latter, but if I want that to happen I need to focus.

Looking over the weapon rack one last time, I grab a few hatchets off the wall. Like I said, you should typically start in your comfort zone and work your way out of it, and hatchets are definitely in my comfort zone. Walking over to the dummies, I experimentally swing the hatchet a few times, testing the weight and the grip on the handle before sending it slicing into the nearest dummy, hitting it in the neck, but not quite decapitating it. I didn't expect to decapitate anything with a hatchet, that's generally what swords and axes are for, but I personally favor hatchets and I can't help but smile as I note that this hatchet is much sharper than the one I have at home. Slicing through a few more dummies in quick succession, I grin at the mutilated dummies that surround me. Some of them are missing arms or legs, but most have giant cuts in their necks or chests that would kill a person almost instantaneously, the last dummy even has a hatchet still lodged in its 'skull'. I yank it out and walk back about 10 feet, tossing the hatchet over my shoulder without looking and smirking when a familiar _thump_ that resonates throughout the room. As I turn to face the dummies, I throw two one after another. _Thump Thump_. Looking at my handiwork, I notice I hit all the dummies in the chest, right where their hearts should be and that the blades are all at least 6 inches deep, which would instantly kill most of the tributes. I jog back so that I am standing 20 feet away from my target. _Thump._ Now 25 feet. _Thump_. At 30 feet away I throw the last three I was carrying, sighing as they miss their targets by a foot or so. As I am retrieving the hatchets, I hear a distinct click coming from the hall. No! No one else is supposed to come down here! Quickly, I gather the hatchets and run into the obstacle course. Instead of trying to jump to the second platform, I jump into the gap between them, effectively concealing myself unless someone happened to literally be looking down on me. I hear the clicking get louder, and I recognize that the noise is the clicking of high-heeled shoes tapping against the concrete floor that covers this level of the Center.

I harshly take in a breath as I hear a soft but annoying, due to the Capitol accent, voice call out, "Blair? Storm? Are you guys down here? You guys need to come back to our floor!" After few moments that seem like pure torture, the person sighs and grumbles something about their mentor killing her before leaving, the clicking slowly fading into the distance as I release the breath I didn't know I had been holding. So the Careers are meeting on the roof again… interesting. I have no need to spy on them; I have more important things to do at this time, like train more. I slide out of my hiding spot and walk back to my spot at the dummies, throwing all eight within seconds of each other, just a little harder than I had a few minutes ago. I watch as two fall to the ground, closer than they were last time. The other six, I note, hit the dummies, two in the leg, one in the arm, one in the chest, one in the head (lucky shot I guess), and one… well, let's just say that if I hit a guy there with a hatchet, they wouldn't be getting up due to extreme amounts of pain. It's good, throwing a hatchet from this distance is difficult, but I'm not proud of it. I will be happy once they all hit the dummy. Retrieving the hatchets once again, I back up and throw them again, grinning triumphantly when they all hit the dummies, pelvic region and up. I gather the weapons and put them back in their rightful places on the wall. I grab a few axes of various sizes, from a little larger than a hatchet to so large I was surprised I could carry it so easily. I repeat the process, minus the hiding incident in the middle. The farthest I can throw the axe and still hit the target is 20 feet, but I can live with that.

Satisfied with my hatchet and axe skills, I examine the wall again. I should learn to use every weapon here, you never know what they have will have in the Arena, and I could have difficulty getting weapons, so being able to use them all may be helpful. Actually, I will learn to use almost every weapon here, some are just too obscure to care about. I honestly doubt that they would have them in the Arena unless someone showed a particular talent with them. I pull out my notepad, which I have decided to carry with me to all night training, and make a list of what weapons I will train with each night. After 15 minutes of thinking and organizing, I officially have made a list.

_Night One (tonight):__  
-Axes and hatchets  
-Swords  
-Hammers  
-Tomahawks  
-Pickaxes  
-Sickles  
-Survival Skills and Intelligence_

Night Two:  
-Close-combat  
-Whips  
-Knives  
-Tridents  
-Spears

_-Machete__  
-Maces  
-Stealth, Climbing, and Strength_

Night Three:  
-Bow and Arrow  
-Crossbows  
-Blow-guns  
-Sling shots  
-Boomerangs  
-Daggers  
-Flexibility, Agility, and Speed

Seeming satisfied with my list, I grin and check off Axes and Hatchets. I may go back to it later, but for now I am happy with my skill in that area. I decide to try swords next. They are one of the few weapons that I couldn't use at home, but they seemed easy enough. I had watched the careers all day, so I picked up a few tricks and tips about how to use them. The girl from one, Flame, is surprisingly talented with swords. I expected her just to be a pretty face that had no talents other than manipulating boys to do what she wants them to, but I was wrong, and I will admit it. Surprisingly, the Careers all seemed to have different strengths this year. While Flame was talented with swords and, surprisingly, maces (I don't even know how it's possible, but she is), Cameron seemed to do better with spears and tomahawks, another surprise to me since I didn't think that they would train the Careers with the unusual weapons. Blair, like most girl Careers from two, was deadly with knives and daggers, and from what I had seen she was really agile and fast too. Storm was like every other District two male, huge and relied on brute strength, making his forte close combat without any weapons, but he seemed to pick up an interest in hammers, which I found odd. I don't know what the Careers were taught to use back home, but I doubt that this was it. Sebastian was typical as well; his main weapon being a trident, and Brandon seemed to be good with whips and lassoes. If you didn't know what District he was from, you would likely guess District ten. Then you have Alice, who surprisingly was nowhere near the Careers all day. Instead, she was talking to a lot of different people, and none of them were the people the Careers told her to figure out. She didn't really show any talents today, but I knew that she had to be good with some sort of weapon. All I knew about her was that she was clever, smart, can read people well, and she is sneaky. I wonder what weapon she is good with…

Shaking my head to clear the thoughts out, I turn back to the section of the wall with the swords on it and gingerly pick up a few, testing their weight and grips before finding a couple that I like. They were light, meaning they could move quicker through the air, and they had long, sharp blades, allowing you to stand a few inches further away from your opponent. Grinning, I turn back to the targets; the dummies turning into people that I wanted to kill even more than I wanted to kill the other tributes. The tributes that had killed my loved ones, Peacekeepers, Capitol citizens, and the one person I would give _anything _to kill, President Snow. Even though he isn't actually here, just imagining him looking at me, laughing and talking about how much he _loved _watching my family die on national television is making me see red. Almost as if I wasn't human, I growl at the image and lunge at it, slicing my sword through the dummy until it is nothing more than a pile of shredded plastic, rubber, and whatever else the use to make dummies. I quickly decapitate the rest of the dummies, finishing them all off within seconds. My anger slowly begins to fade and I look at the mess around me with a mixture of satisfaction and complete horror. I'm satisfied since I can use a sword quite well, and that I just killed "President Snow", but I'm kind of horrified because I realize that I am just as bad as the Careers and that soon I will be killing innocent kids just like they are. The horror quickly disappears as I remind myself that it's not my fault I'm like this, its President Snow's. If he didn't kill my family off and then send me to the games, I wouldn't be violent and kill-happy in the first place.

I practice killing a few more dummies before putting a little check next to swords and moving on to hammers, which is next on my list. I quickly discover that I can't really pick it up, much less actually hurt someone with it, so I cross it off and move on to tomahawks. They are very similar to hatchets, but generally weigh a bit less, which means I can throw them from a greater distance. I take ten off the wall and step back to the 30 foot line, deciding against trying to throw them from closer up. I throw them all at the dummy, grinning when they land side by side in the dummy's chest. I retrieve them and try 35 feet. Then 40. At 40 feet, 7 out of the ten hit the dummy, the others falling short and literally landing right in front of their target. Although that might scare a tribute, if I was going against a Career I would be practically giving them a weapon to use against me, and even though I didn't see any of them use one today, I didn't, under _any _circumstances, want to hand them a weapon. That's like putting a neon sign on your head with flashing lights saying '_Murder me now!' _

I throw the tomahawks a few more times, never managing to get them all to hit the target from this distance, before giving up, checking it off my list and moving onto pickaxes. Glancing at the weapon, I decide to just forget about it, it doesn't look useful anyway and I doubt they will ever be in the Arena. I decide the same for sickles, they seem kind of useless if you aren't trying to harvest crops, but the District eleven tributes may use them in the Arena. I'm sure there will be other weapons, so I suppose it will be alright to skip these two. I cross them off my list and then basically repeat what I did all day: work on my survival skills. I didn't have to pretend to be bad at these skills during the day, so I got plenty of practice then, but I suppose it can't hurt to get some more practice in.

By the time I am done, I dispose of the dummies (they actually have a trash chute for destroyed dummies. It's very convenient) and look around one more time, making sure that the room looks like it did before I came in. I don't think there are any changes, so I exit the room and creep back up the stairs quietly, exiting on District seven's floor and slipping back into my room, shutting the door soundlessly behind me. I take a quick shower, thankful for the sound proof walls which make sure that no one can hear the running water. I step onto the platform which instantly air dries me and get dressed in my night-clothes. As I am walking out of the bathroom, I hear a light knock on my door. Wait, it's… about 4:30 in the morning and someone is knocking on my door? I know it isn't Evanna, she would have to be completely idiotic to be knocking, plus there isn't any shrieking to go along with the knocking, and it isn't loud at all. So who could it be? Did another tribute see me training? No, that's not possible. I need to look like I was sleeping; otherwise the person will get suspicious. I mess up my hair a little; taking a brush and brushing through my hair from the tips to the top which effectively makes my hair look messy. I then rub my eyes a little and walk over to the door, opening it and squinting a little as if the lights were too bright.

Outside of my room is a man, but not just any man, Griffin Erwyn, the Head Gamemaker for this year's games. _OH SHIT! Shit shit shit shit shit… there were cameras in the Training Center. _I must have been staring at him with wide eyes for a few minutes, because he clears his throat and shifts uncomfortably. His movement wouldn't have been noticeable to most people, but I trained myself back home to look for these sorts of things because if an opponent has all their weight on one foot, especially if it is their non-dominant one, then they aren't balanced and it will be easier to take them down.

I shake my head and blink a few times before taking a step back and saying, forcing my voice to tremble a bit, "Hello Mr. Erwyn."

He smiles and shakes his head slightly, shifting his weight to his other foot. _Oh… so he's nervous. I wonder why…_ I think. However, when he speaks, he doesn't sound nervous, although all the signs are still there. "Why hello Lacey. You can quit pretending to be afraid of me, I know that the whole 'I'm weak and innocent and afraid of everyone' thing is just an act. I have something serious that I would like to discuss with you, and it would be better if you would stop pretending to be afraid long enough for us to talk."

I roll my eyes and smirk at him, almost laughing at the look on his face. I think he thought I would still be girly and wide-eyed, just no trembling voice or looks of fear. Well, he's wrong, and I'm tempted to see if I can scare him, but quickly decide against it. "Okay Mr. Erwyn, you caught on to my little act. My guess is it's because of cameras placed in the Training Center, and that's what you are here to talk to me about. Come in, I guess… unless you would rather talk in the doorway and make this a very awkward situation when Evanna comes around like she does at this time. She treats me like a daughter, so I somehow doubt she would be very happy about this… meeting. Oh wait, maybe you are here to talk to me about Evanna! Which one is it, the Training Center or Evanna? My guess is the Training Center; otherwise you would have come at a different time," I say, smiling with just a hint of the girly one that I typically wear and step to the side, allowing him to enter the room.

He looks at me with an odd look on his face; it's like a mix of shock and nervousness and a little bit of anger. He stands there, uncertain of what to do, and I raise an eyebrow before saying, "Well, I suppose we could talk somewhere else if you would like, but I swear Evanna starts walking up and down this hall around now."

He glares at me and I shrug, fighting the urge to laugh now. It takes me a minute to realize why he is being so hesitant. There aren't any cameras in my room, otherwise I would have gotten punished for the Evanna incident, and he clearly has seen what I can do, it's the only reason he's here now. He must be worried that I'm going to try to kill him. I grin and laugh quietly, earning another glare from the Gamemaker in front of me. I shrug my shoulders innocently and say, "We could go have that discussion you wanted to have in the living room, there are plenty of cameras there and Evanna doesn't start running around there until after she has woken us up."

I must either be embarrassing him or annoying him, but I don't really care. It's too early for discussions, and I'm going to make that clear with breaking any rules. He nods and turns away, mumbling something about sending someone else next time and I chuckle before following him into the living room, where I sit down in a chair across from the one he is sitting in. He still looks extremely uncomfortable; the Gamemakers don't usually have to deal with the tributes. I smile again and ask, "What did you need to talk to me about?"

He sighs before replying, "Well, after the Gamemakers saw what you can do, they have taken a sudden… _interest _in you. From what we have seen, you are better than the Careers, which could make for a very exciting games this year. But, you broke a rule. No tributes are allowed off of their floors at night. Now, technically we are supposed to punish you, but that would make the games a lot less fun this year, so we have decided on something else. You can take the punishment… or you can do what we tell you to in the Arena."

I stare at him for a moment before I burst out laughing. "Ok. One, you are crazy. Did you really think I was going to fall for that? Two, last time I checked, that wasn't even a rule. Three, even if it is a rule, I wouldn't be the only one who broke it. And four, why on Earth would I do what you told me to in the Arena? Honestly, I don't know what made you think that would work!"

He smirks and puts a book on the table, opens it up to a certain page, and shows me the rule written there.

_64: All tributes must stay on their floors at night._

I laugh again and he looks at me like I have gone insane. When I finally stop laughing, I look down at the book again and then say, "Ok, it's a rule. Guess how many tributes you have to punish? Eight and that doesn't even include the ones that will sneak out tomorrow! Oh and then the ones that go to the roof the night before they are sent to the Arena! Have fun ruining the games completely this year by punishing all the biggest competitors! My guess is that the Careers are still on the roof. You have a camera pointed right at the spot where they were sitting last night. Oh and one more thing, the tributes get a different copy of the rule book, and rule #64 in that one is no blackmailing other tributes. You made a book in hopes to blackmail me to do what you wanted me to do. Congrats! It failed," I smirk at him and add, "Oh and you guys may want to add the rule ' _Tributes cannot attack their escorts_.' I mean, it's not a rule now, I checked, but it should be one. Also, warn the escorts not to be idiotic and wake up their tributes at four in the morning just to say that training starts at ten. Thanks!"

He looks at me with a look of pure hatred and I just smile at him, pissing him off even more. He stands up and glares one more time before harshly saying, "Oh so you read the rulebook. I think you are the first tribute to ever do that. But trust me; I will make you regret outsmarting me in the Arena."

I giggle, getting more looks of anger and confusion from him. I stand up and yawn before replying, "You just tried to play the wrong tribute. Try Flame, she's an idiot; she will definitely fall for your blackmail. Oh and you can throw whatever you want at me in the Arena, I have nothing to lose. Your games already took my family. But I can assure you, I will survive, because you and I both know you'd get in a lot of trouble if you killed me in fire because the Capitol loves a good show, and a sweet, innocent, weak 12-year-old murdering everyone in the Arena by herself is exactly that. So unless you want to die too, you can't kill me in some freak nature accident. And don't laugh and say I'm making this up, because whether or not President Snow told you or not, that's what they do to Ex-Head Gamemakers, they execute them. Well, that was a nice talk, but I'm tired, I'm going to bed. Goodnight!" I smile brightly at him and skip down the hall, opening the door to my room and turning around to look at him one last time before shutting it behind me, giggling at the fact that he was literally staring at me with a complete look of shock on his face.

I warily lock the door and slip into my bed, falling asleep instantly.

**There! All done! Thank you for reading, but a special thanks go to those of you who reviewed! Literally, your reviews mean the world to me. :) **

**Hey! I've never met you, (unless you are Jinx Kalantha)  
And this is crazy...  
But here's my chapter,  
Review it, maybe?  
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**Please? :P  
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**Okay, I'm going to stop wasting your time. XD Bye!  
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**Thanks again for reading!  
**


	7. Catastrophe

**Hey! I know it's been almost two months... You can shoot me with your virtual phaser... Now! Or you can poison pancakes if that's your style. I'd hand out virtual knives, but I used them all up. :P Honestly between school, volleyball, robotics (which just ended), and other little things, I have a hard time fitting writing into my schedule. However, no matter how long I am away I promise to never give up on this story. No matter how much writers block tries to stop me. :D sorry it's been so long, but just stay with the story, okay? Pretty please? I'll cry if you don't. XD Then I will Bake virtual cookies as REFUSE TO GIVE YOU ANY! I know I'm evil.**  
** Well, here is the chapter, I hope you enjoy it! It's kind of sad at times and has some wonderful language in it! :P**

Today is the day, the day that will either make or break my act. The day that will either reveal my secret or allow it to remain just that, a secret. It could be the deciding factor, the day that determines your fate. The one that could mean life or death. Today, the tributes are separated into two unspoken groups; predators and their prey. For the predators, it is a wonderful day full of competition between one another and for the prey, it is a terrifying day, a day where your fate is handed to someone else, a day where you try your best and hope that it is good enough to prevent becoming a target. Sponsors are crucial to survival in the games, and if you don't do well today, you aren't going to get any. It is everything. In case you haven't guessed yet, today is the Private Sessions.

Now of course, I'm not all that worried about them. Having a target on my back is exactly what I want, and my goal is to do really bad and get a one. It doesn't take much effort to look pathetic, and I've been acting the part since I was little so I'm not afraid that I will mess it up now. All you have to do is cry and then completely miss all the targets. Simple.

However, the Gamemakers have all seen what I can do, so I'm a little concerned that they will blow my cover. I suppose it doesn't matter either way. I will make sure that I become a target, no matter what score they give me.

I walk into the waiting room outside of the training center and sit down next to Jagger, who must have arrived a few minutes ago. There are only a few tributes in the room at this moment, which is weird since the Private Sessions are starting soon. I turn my attention back to Jagger, who is staring at me with a weird look in his eyes. I think it's determination and… something else. I smile and tilt my head to the side a little, trying to figure out what he is thinking about. Over the last few days, we have gotten to know each other better and now we can pretty much hold silent conversations, which will be good in the arena. We decided to be allies, and it makes me a little sad to think that I will most likely have to kill him. Who am I kidding? I will have to kill him early in the games if I want to do what I plan to. I can't have him being suspicious of me or worse, finding out and turning on me. Besides, if I let him live, he would just slow me down. I frown just a little. It was stupid to get to know him, but I can't really undo that. Now I see him as an actual person with a district to get back to, a family to be with, and a life to continue. I can't think of him as just another person to kill, which will make things difficult in the long-run. However, I know that when the opportunity comes, I will kill him, and it will probably haunt me forever.

I shake my head slightly to clear my head of those thoughts and turn my attention back to Jagger, who is frowning slightly. I raise an eyebrow, silently questioning him, but he just shakes his head. He looks as if he is contemplating something, and just as he opens his mouth, a voice rings through the small room, effectively cutting him off.

"Lacey Lockhart"

Well, that's my cue. I didn't even realize they had started calling people. Smiling nervously, I walk through the large metal doors and into the room that is filled with weapons and Gamemakers.

I honestly don't know what my score will be. They could go off of my private session, or they could give me a score based on what they saw in night training. I guess I will find out in a few minutes when they announce the scores.

I am about to get lost in my thoughts when suddenly the Capitol Anthem begins to play and the TV automatically turns on.

"Good afternoon Panem! In case you have forgotten, and I will be heartbroken if you did, my name is Caesar Flickerman! It is that time of year again, the time to announce the training scores!"

"From District One, Cameron Colt scored a…. Ten! His District partner Flame scored an Eight!"

"From District Two…. Storm scored a ten and Blair scored a Ten as well!"

"District Three's very own Evan Denytr got a Three and his District partner Sadie scored a Five!"

"From District Four we have Sebastian, who scored an Eight and Alice, who got a score of Nine!"

"From District Five we have consecutive Sixes from Axel and Skye!"

"District Six's Brandon scored a… Four while his district partner Xena scored an Eight! Oh wait… sorry I accidentally flipped the scores. Brandon got an Eight while Xena Scored a Four!"

"Soul Kingston from District Seven scored a… Nine! Lacey, his District partner scored a… ah… as surprising as it seems, Lacey Lockhart got a…. Thirteen! Apparently she did so well that they felt the need to create a new Score just for her…. And here we thought she was out of the running!"

"Moving onto District Eight! Jasper got a Nine and Bella scored a Two."

"From District Nine, Munro got a score of Three and Cami scored a Six!"

"Jagger from District Ten got a Six while his District partner Elora got a Five."

"District Eleven's Dante got a score of One… and his partner Scarlette got a Four!"

"And finally we have District Twelve! Caleb and Clara got consecutive Twos!

"With that, we say goodbye for now! Be sure to tune in later for the Interviews! Until then, you can stay on this channel to see all the tribute's odds!"

Then the screen goes blank, and I can't manage to look away from it. It takes a moment for everything to finally sink in…

I got a Thirteen. _THIRTEEN! _They don't even have a thirteen! My act is ruined now, everyone knows that I'm not weak like I pretend to be, they all know I'm not innocent. I can't pretend to be afraid anymore. They all know now that I am the person to beat. I am the person that you don't want to encounter… I scored three points higher than the best Career tributes. They gave me a score that doesn't exist… it's above Twelve. It's above perfect… SHIT.

I blink a few times and look around the room warily. Everyone is staring at me like I am about to tell them that I am a vampire… or like I am about to burst into flames, which actually would happen if I was a vampire. Without saying a word, I get up and run to my room, slamming the door shut behind me. I lean against the door and close my eyes, only to open them seconds later when I realize something awful…

My room smells like blood and roses.

Cautiously, I walk over to my bed and find two notes. I can tell from the seals that one is from the President himself, hence the horrible stench of bloody roses, and the other is from Head Gamemaker Griffin Erwyn. Neither one of these can be good, I think solemnly as I pick up the one from the Head Gamemaker. I slowly open the envelope and read it.

_Dear Lacey,_

_I hope you enjoy the wonderful score that you received. It's a shame your… act did not work out. I hope you realize that this is only the beginning of your punishment. I talked to our beloved President Snow about this issue. I'm sure he dealt with it as he felt necessary. Have fun in the Arena. May the odds be __**N**__ever in your favor._

_ Griffin Erwyn, Head Gamemaker_

I sighed. Now I'm a target to those who are in the Arena with me and those who aren't. Great. Glancing at the note from President Snow, I pick it up slowly and rip it open. Honestly, I'm a little frightened to read it, our '_beloved' _President tended to use extreme acts of violence to instill obedience in all the people in Panem's hearts. I take a deep breath and read the words written in blood-red ink.

_Lacey Lockhart,_

_I have been informed of your little… chat with Head Gamemaker Griffin. It appears that you do not understand your place here. I hope that by the time you are done reading this, you will know exactly where you belong. _

_You were out of line when you spoke to Griffin Erwyn, and for that there is a price to be paid. I could not put you in harm's way, it would have been too easy of a punishment, and we both know that you don't have the money, nor is that what I want… again it would be too easy. The punishment has been dealt, and let me just inform you that there has been a tragic accident back in District Seven. It seems that the factory caught on fire and sadly, your dear sister Emma and your friend Mabel were unable to escape in time. _

_Let this be a lesson to you. No one messes with me or the Gamemakers, no one. No one defies them, outsmarts them, or talks back to them without consequences. Next time, the punishment will be much, much greater. I'm glad we straightened things out here. May the odds be ever in your favor. _

_ President Snow_

I reread the letter, just to be sure I understood what it was saying. The room still smelled horribly of blood and roses, and suddenly it was all just too much. It was like all the light in the world had disappeared, and I was left searching in the dark abyss for anything that resembled happiness and never found anything. It was as if someone had ripped my heart out and burned it. As if I was thrown into the darkest depths of Hell and left me to be ripped apart, shred by shred. Like the sun turned dark and I was left in a room with blood slowly dripping down the walls, nothing to do but to watch and go insane. I felt angry, alone, deserted… broken. They were all gone, and it was my fault. I needed to leave this room, I needed to go somewhere, anywhere else but here. So I did.

I don't know where I was heading, but I just kept running. It was as if I was trying to run away from the truth; like running away would change what happened, it was like I believed that I could run backwards in time and change its path, like I could bring them back if I ran far enough. Suddenly all the anger left me, the little amount of hope I had held onto vanished, only to be replaced with despair, and it was as if I couldn't stand anymore. I collapsed onto the ground and for the first time since my brother died, I truly cried. I cried for every person who lost someone because of our fucked-up President. For every person who had some taken away from them for no reason. I cried for my family and for Mabel's, who no longer exist. I cry until I run out of tears, and then some.

When I finally get up, I automatically realize where I am. Unknowingly, I had run to the District Ten floor and was standing outside of the male tribute's room. Jagger is in the doorway just staring silently at me, a conflicted look in his eyes. Like half of him wants to slam the door in my face and the other half wants to comfort me. After what seems like forever, he sighs and opens the door a little wider, gesturing for me to enter the room.

After I enter he shuts the door and paces the room, occasionally stopping to look at me before shaking his head and pacing some more. Finally, when he seems to know what he wants to say, he turns to face me and sighs before whispering, "So… you being weak was an act. What else was an act? Should I even trust you?"

I shake my head slowly and reply, "This is the Hunger Games. In the end, one of us will die and the other might too. I really do want to be your friend. Yes, pretended to be weak. It was the best strategy I could come up with, and I could have easily pulled it off too if it weren't for the cameras in the Training Center."

He tilts his head to the side and gives me a questioning look. "What do the cameras change anything?" He asks me.

"I pretended to be really bad in my Private Session… but they had a video of me training at night, so they knew it was all pretend," I tell him.

"Oh," He says slowly before adding, "Hey uh… why were you crying in the hall? I mean… there is no point in crying anymore, everyone knows it was an act now."

I look at the ground and fight off the tears as I say in a voice just above a whisper, "There… There was a fire in the factory back in my District. My sister and best friend got stuck in the building and they weren't able to escape. They were all the family I had left and now… now they are gone."

I continue to stare at my feet, unsure of what else to do. I bite my lip and look up at him, blinking away tears.

"Lacey… I'm sorry," He says, stepping forward and holding his arms out. Just as he is about to hug me, I duck out of the embrace and take a few steps back.

"It's fine… not like it's your fault. _The President actually wrote me a hand-written apology letter," _I tell him, changing my tone slightly in hopes that he understands what I am trying to say.

Clearly, he does, and his facial expression goes from sad to angry. He quickly switches to an emotionless look and says calmly, "Did he now? That was very thoughtful of him."

"Yeah I know, right? Who knew he was so kind?" I reply, trying to keep the bitter edge out of my voice.

He opens his mouth to reply, but is cut off by someone banging on the door. He groans and yells, "Nobody is here! Can I take a message?"

I laugh as the person on the other side of the door yells back, "I know that's not true! I am not falling for that again after what happened yesterday! Your prep-team is here, so you better come out! We need to get you ready for your interview!"

I grin mischievously at Jagger and gesture to the door, then point to myself, then the closet, and then make an over-dramatic scared face. He seems to understand because he smirks and nods his head, and with that I open his closet and hide in it.

Through the closet doors I can hear Jagger say, "Alright alright! Geez I will go get ready for the interviews, but first, can you take a look at my closet? The spinning rack isn't working."

I cover my mouth to keep from laughing and stand on the side of the spinning rack that isn't visible when you first open the closet.

"Oh sure! I'll take a quick look and then it's off to work with your prep team," I hear a girly voice reply; I'm assuming it's his escort.

The door opens and you can hear a few buttons being pushed. Suddenly the rack starts spinning and finally I spin into view. When I do, I yell out "BOO!"

Jagger and I burst out laughing as his escort screams and almost runs out of the room. She stops at the door when she hears the laughing, and when she finally sees who was in the closet, she blushes like crazy and says, "Manners children!," before leaving.

Jagger and I look at each other before bursting out laughing again, and I get up and head towards the door after saying, "Well, I probably have to get ready for the interviews too, See you in a few hours!"

The moment the elevator stops on my floor, I am practically attacked by my prep team. I tune them out and sing a song that my mom taught me when I was younger.

All dressed up  
In a white straitjacket  
Shut your mouth  
No, you can't have it

Paper airplanes  
Open window  
Here today  
And gone tomorrow

I like to stare at the sun  
And think about what I've done  
I lie awake in my great escape

I like crossing the line  
And slowly losing my mind  
Are you ok  
'Cuz I feel fine  
Maybe it's me  
I'm just crazy  
Maybe I like that I'm not alright

All messed up  
And slightly twisted  
Am I sick or am I gifted

Paper airplanes  
Open window  
Here today  
And gone tomorrow

I like to stare at the sun  
And think about what I've done  
I lie awake in my great escape

I like crossing the line  
And slowly losing my mind  
Are you ok  
'Cuz I feel fine  
Maybe it's me  
I'm just crazy  
Maybe I like that I'm not alright

Woah  
I don't care if you apologize  
I can't lie  
Woah  
I can't lie

I like to stare at the sun  
And think about what I've done  
I lie awake in my great escape

I like crossing the line  
And slowly losing my mind  
Are you ok  
'Cuz I feel fine  
Maybe it's me  
I'm just crazy  
Maybe I like that I'm not alright  
Maybe I like that I'm not alright

By the time I finish the song, I realize that the only thing I hear are sobs. Glancing at my prep team, I realize that they are all crying while working on making me 'Socially Acceptable.' They quickly finish up and hand the rest over to Styarr, who is oddly quiet today. Actually, the first thing he says is, "Close your eyes" and the only other thing he says is, "You can open them now, Bye." Then he left, which was kind of weird.

After opening my eyes, I stare at the mirror in wonder. That has to be a picture. It has to be. That isn't me.

The dress is white with long sleeves that are made of a light material. The dress is tight until it reaches my waist, at which it parts from my body, but doesn't flair out, and reaches the floor with a train trailing behind me. There are beads and sequins in all the right places, causing the dress to shimmer in the faintest amounts of light. A gold strip of fabric acts as a belt around my waist. The shoes they gave me to wear are golden sandals that wrap up around my legs and stop mid-calf. My nails are painted white with gold swirls in them, and my eyes lined with white liner and black mascara as well as a pale, shimmery shadow, one that almost matches my skin color. My lips are a light pink, with a thin layer of gloss making them shine. My cheeks are a light rosy pink, and my skin is flawless, pale and smooth and perfect, seeming to almost glow in a celestial way. My hair is in perfect platinum blonde ringlets that brush against my shoulders ever so slightly. It has faint traces of glitter in it, making it sparkle and glow in the light. When I walk, it appears as if I am gliding instead of actually moving. I have a feeling he made this for me before I got my training score, but I am definitely not complaining; I look beautiful!

As I walk into the room that all the tributes wait in before going on stage for their interviews, everyone stops talking and looks at me. I don't know if it is the outfit or my training score; either way I feel extremely self-conscious with all these people staring at me, so I avert my gaze to my shoes and stand take my spot in line after Brandon.

Soon we are all being called onto the stage. We all take our seats in the plush red chairs and wait for the crowd to stop screaming so that the first interview can begin. Finally, Caesar calls Flame to the stage. Like every other girl from her district, she acts seductive and determined. She tells the audience that she can't wait to get to know them on a deeper level after she gets back. Next is Cameron, who acts arrogant and excited. When asked about girls, he turns around and looks at the tributes behind him before saying that someone may have caught his eye. Then his interview is over and he walks back to his seat.

The rest of the interviews fly by pretty fast, Blair goes with intimidating and sarcastic, Storm acts confident and cocky. Alice is thoughtful and a little mysterious; Sebastian acts like he already won the games. Brandon acts goofy, and then it's my turn.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, The Angel, Miss Lacey Lockhart!" Caesar yells as the crowd starts cheering again. I put on my brightest smile and walk across the stage, waving to the crowd. When I reach Caesar, he shakes my hand before taking a seat. I follow his actions and take a deep breath.

"So, may I just say I love your dress, am I right folks?" Caesar says, and is awarded with more applauding.

I blush before responding, "Why thank you, but you should really be applauding my stylist. He made it, I just wore it!"

Caesar chuckles and says, "Yes, we will be sure to do that later. Now, I must admit that your score earlier today was a bit surprising to everybody. Care to comment on that?"

I laugh quietly and say, "Honestly, I didn't expect that. I think the Gamemakers made a mistake; I'm not _that _good. I mean, I might have done well but not good enough to get a whole new number! It's kind of amazing… I'll go down in history as the only person to ever score a Thirteen! As for what I did, that is my little secret and I plan on keeping it!" I finish with a big smile on my face.

"Yes, yes you will. Now, is there a guy here, or at home..? I think a lot of people want to know who has our little angel's heart, am I right?" Again, he gets more screaming.

I smirk slightly, "Wouldn't you like to know?" I say jokingly before adding, "No, there isn't. I'm a bit young for that!"

Caesar nods understandingly and then turns to the audience and pretends to pout, earning tons of laughter. Then he turns back to me and asks the question I've been dreading, "So, tell us about your family! Are they all angels too?"

I look down at my hands and reply quietly, "Actually… I'm the only one who isn't an angel. They… aren't around anymore. They moved on to a better place." The crowd 'Awwwws' and a few people burst out crying; even Caesar wipes his eyes once.

"Well, I'm sure they are watching over you and are very proud," He says encouragingly before moving on to the next question, "What is your favorite thing about the Capitol?"

I smile brightly and reply, "The clothes, of course! There are so many and I have to admit I have a newfound love of glitter… either that or it's the people; I just can't pick between the two!"

"Oh I know, right? They are both just wonderful!"

"Yeah!" I say, giggling for a moment.

"Well Lacey, I have one last question for you; do you think you have a chance of winning?"

"Well honestly Caesar… I think so. The Gamemakers seem to think I do." I reply with a slight smirk.

"I look forward to it Lacey. I am afraid we are out of time. Everyone give it up for Panem's angel: Lacey Lockhart!"

I grin and blow a few kisses as I walk back to my seat. The interviews after mine go by just as fast as the ones before mine did. Soul is mysterious and tells the audience that he has a plan… and that he isn't coming out of the Arena if his plan works. Jasper is smart and a little witty. Jagger is funny and when asked about girls he tells them that he had a girl in mind and that she is a tribute this year, but that he was friend-zoned today. I wonder who she is, maybe Alice, who had said she didn't have a crush on anyone. Finally the interviews come to a close after Caleb finishes his interview, which in all honesty was kind of sad to watch. With one last wave to the crowd, we all head back to our rooms for the night, even though no one will be sleeping because tomorrow, we will be in a fight for our lives.

**So yeah, that was sad. :/**  
** Thank you sooo much for reading! I'll have the next chapter up... Eventually, but I won't give up on this story until it is finished. Promise :) Please review... I literally love them to death... :) And without them I will be abducted by space aliens and they will eat my brains. It's hard to write without brains, so for the safety of this story you should review...**  
** Oh yeah by the way, I don't own the song or the Hunger Games. The song is I'm Not Alright by Shinedown.**  
** Thanks again!**


	8. Let The Flames (Or Games) Begin

**It's a bird! It's a plane! It's… SUPERMAN! Actually, it's an update to my story that I haven't written a chapter for in a few months. I'm SORRY! Just… if you are gonna kill me, make it quick, okay? XD **

**Guess what? This is the Hunger Games… and it's the Bloodbath Chapter, so… someone gets stabbed :O The story's rated T for a reason. But don't worry, the gory descriptive deaths don't come until the next chapter! This chapter also contains some pretty language! :D**

**This chapter is shorter than most so… sorry. :( I have no more weapons to give ya. **

**I've decided to reply to a few of the reviews! **

**SamieSimpson1: Awww thanks! A love triangle? :O If it is there one… it won't be mentioned much and then ya know; the people in said possible love triangle are going to die anyway so… XD  
****Jagger is 13. I didn't even realize I never mentioned that. Thanks again!**

**Jinx Kalantha: Even though I could have just told you in person, I choose to do it here where the whole world can read it! Yes, it is one of those songs. Her mom was kind of a weird person… so just deal with it. XD You also have to remember that the Hunger Games is set really far in the future so if anything, the song would be ancient. Contractions? Sorry, but I DON'T have a clue what YOU'RE talking about. XD As for the analogies… I wrote my speech before I wrote it so they kind of just showed up.  
****i gets it you Does no likes me GraMmAr XD Thanks!**

**Thank you to everyone else who reviewed. Before you all leave because you're tired of reading my author's note, here is the chapter!**

As I sit on the hovercraft, the silence only broken by the heaving breaths of the tributes who are trying not to cry in front of the others, I can't help but smile. Now, before you assume things, let me explain why. I'm smiling because I honestly can't wait to kill some of these people. I know, I'm as bad as the careers, but I can't help myself. It's not that I don't like any of the people here, they actually aren't bad at all, but in order for my plan to work, they all need to die terribly gruesome deaths. Deaths so awful that even the Capitol citizens will cringe and look away.

I'm brought out of my thoughts by someone whispering in my ear, which causes me to inwardly groan. Why does the world love screwing me over? Of course, the Gamemakers thought it would be a good idea to seat us by training scores, so I have to sit next to Storm.

I turn to look at him, and am met with a glare that would make President Snow look like a lost puppy. I roll my eyes at him, and he grins, his eyes gleaming with that 'I'm-gonna-kill-you-slowly' look. I raise an eyebrow at him and turn away, which causes him to growl menacingly in annoyance and talk to Blair, who is sitting next to him.

The hovercraft ride goes on like this, with Storm trying to intimidate me while I just roll my eyes at him.

Finally, the hovercraft lands and we are all escorted to our rooms, where our stylists make us pretty before we die in the arena. It's a great thought… right? I wouldn't want to insult the Capitol citizens by having teeth that aren't freakishly white when I get my guts ripped out of me (That's not going to happen anyways but you know what I mean).

After Styarr deemed me acceptable, I sit in the launch room and go over my plans one more time. The tribute outfits this year are pretty simple, consisting of a hunter green long-sleeved shirt with a matching tank top underneath, khaki shorts, a belt with a lot of loops in it, presumably for weapons, and hiking boots. The outfit makes me think that the arena will likely be warmer this year, but you never know with the Gamemakers. I suppose they wouldn't make it too cold though, a year where everyone freezes to death just wouldn't be entertaining.

Before I can think about any more possibilities of what the arena will look like, an automated voice comes through a speaker somewhere in this room and announces that there are 30 seconds until launch. I smile slightly and step into the glass tube and slip my necklace into my pocket. Although most tributes are scared when they step into the tube, I feel an odd surge of excitement. I know exactly what I am doing, and even if I die, as long as I finish my plan it will be alright. I will have gotten revenge on Snow for killing my family. For my family and siblings, for Mabel, for her family, and for every person who has ever died in these awful games. Normally, they would cut out what I'm planning to do, but I will make sure that they can't.

As the tube is closing, I throw a letter I wrote last night out of the tube at the last second and grin mischievously. The letter is for our _wonderful_ President. This is what it says:

_Dear President Snow,_

_ Don't you remember that a person with nothing to lose is more dangerous than a person with everything? _

_Love,_

_Lacey Lockhart_

It is simple… but he will know what I mean by saying that soon.

Before anyone has time to react to the letter that was thrown at them, the tube begins to rise and I am soon surrounded by complete darkness. I take a deep breath and try to keep from smiling. I really don't want to look like a crazy person… yet. After what seems like hours but was probably less than a minute, I'm lifted into the arena and am instantly met with a blinding light. After a few moments my eyes adjust and I instantly begin to take in my surroundings.

It seems like I am in a… maze. There is no one around me, just 10 foot walls and two options: to go forward or to go left, both turning at some point and leading me to places only the Gamemakers would know. I notice that in the distance there is a forest to my right and what looks like an amusement park to my left. Somewhere out in front of me is a hill and on top of that hill is the cornucopia. I can't see around it, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the Arena is split into 4 parts with the maze and cornucopia in the middle. I can smell the slight hint of salt, which from what I learned in training means there is probably an ocean somewhere in the arena. When I look behind me, I can see the silhouette of a giant castle, so I am guessing that the ocean is on the other side of the Cornucopia. I decide to go forward since I need to get supplies from the Cornucopia and then I will head to the forest since that is probably where most of the tributes will be.

I listen to the countdown for a second and discover it is at 35, so I still have some time left. Just then a loud boom goes off and the ground shakes a little bit. A spot across from me lights up, which means someone stepped off their platform early. Suddenly, I hear people yelling each other's names. I listen silently as names are called and responses are given, going down a list of tributes in my head.

_'CAMERON!'  
__'I'm not that stupid Storm… you should check for Flame though, she is!'  
__'WHAT? CAMERON THAT ISN'T TRUE! Just because I volun-'  
__'OK we get it Flame! This is Blair… and I know that it wasn't a career! I'm hoping that it was that little girl from 7!'  
__'YEAH! Stupid bitch scored higher than us! LACEY YOU BETTER BE DEAD BECAUSE IF YOU AREN'T I'M GONNA MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE!'_

I roll my eyes at Storm's statement. Honestly… am I supposed to be scared by this? All the Careers have done is make their locations known. I now know that Storm is directly to my left… I'm guessing on the other side of this wall, Blair is a few spaces away from him, Flame is really far to the right and Cameron is somewhere between Flame and I.

I decide to humor them and yell back, "YEAH STORM? WELL YOU ARE GONNA HAVE TO CATCH ME FIRST, AND EVEN IF YOU DO I WON'T BE THE ONE THE CANNON SOUNDS FOR!"

"HAHA YOU FUCKING WISH YOU LITTLE BITCH! I AM GOING TO RIP YOUR PRETTY LITTLE FACE TO SHREDS!" He replies and I can almost picture his sadistic smirk.

I roll my eyes and say, "AWWW YOU THINK MY FACE IS PRETTY? THANKS! BUT SHOULDN'T YOU LEAVE THE COMPLIMENTS TO CAMERON?"

Cameron gasps so loud I can actually hear it from here, so I am guessing he is pretty close to me. I notice now that the countdown is just repeating the number 27 over and over again, so I am guessing that this is entertaining the Gamemakers enough that they don't want to end it. I then hear Cameron and Storm yell out at the same time, "WHAT THE HELL! YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?"

I laugh loudly, hoping that they will hear it before saying, "NO I DON'T HAVE A CLUE WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. THAT'S WHY I SAID IT!"

Flame decides that this is a good time to join in by yelling in a sing-song voice, "CAMERON AND LACEY SITTIN' IN A TREE! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! FIRST COMES LOVE…. THEN COM- OH WAIT… THEN COMES HER DEATH!"

I roll my eyes as the Careers all forget about me and argue with themselves. The countdown resumes after a minute, and the Careers are still yelling at each other when the gong rings.

I step off my platform and run into the maze, heading towards the Cornucopia. After a ton of twists and turns and a few dead ends, I finally reach the base of the hill. When I step into the clearing, a wall pops up, blocking the way I just came. I look at it for a second and shrug before beginning the walk up the steep hill in front of me. From what I can see, I am in the first person here, but someone may be on the other side of the Cornucopia. When I get to the top of the hill, I look towards the bottom and realize I can see into the maze from here. I notice that the other tributes are now reaching the base of the hill. I quickly turn around and scan the supplies in the Cornucopia. I grab an empty bag and fill it with supplies that I will need: food, extra clothes, rope, a couple first aid kits, and an empty canteen are just a few of things I take. Looking around again, I notice that a few of the tributes are within 100 yards of me, but they don't look like they want to kill me or anything, so I turn back to the supplies and grab every weapon I can carry in my belt and throw a few extras into my bag.

I realize that I may have taken too much time when I hear footsteps directly behind me. Out of instinct, I drop to the ground and roll away, but I don't move fast enough and the blade of their sword cuts into my shoulder, creating a pretty long gash that is thankfully shallow. I grimace slightly at the pain and throw the knife I was holding in the direction that the footsteps I heard came from. I hear a quiet thud and a scream followed by a small whimper, but I know that I don't have time to look back and see what happened. I take off in the direction of the forest, only to trip over something and go flying down the hill. I groan when I reach the bottom of the hill. I know that I need to get up even though I really want to just lie there all day, so I do. Unfortunately, the moment a stand up, I'm tackled and pinned to the ground. Luck really isn't on my side, for when I look up I see none other than Storm pinning me to the ground with his classic sadistic smirk on his face.

"Well Lacey, I caught you… now comes the fun part." He growls at me.

I widen my eyes in fear as I look up at him, knowing that the cameras are all on us, and say, "You aren't gonna k-kill me, are you? I-I don't want to d-die! I j-just wanna g-go home!"

He laughs, obviously believing that I am just weak and pathetic and whispers, "You want to go home? Well don't worry, you will… in a coffin."

I smirk and roll my eyes before saying, "No… I don't think that's true. By the way, you may want to work on being menacing; your attempts just make me laugh."

I glance down and he looks at me, obviously confused. I give him a moment to see if he can figure out my plan, and he seems to get it one second too late. He underestimated me and believed he won too early, but he forgot to pin my legs down. He soon learns this as I knee him in a place where the sun don't shine, if you get what I mean. He shrieks like a little girl and rolls off of me. I get up and smirk, saying "I think I'll finish you off later when I have time to make it painful…" before I run off into the maze.

I wonder aimlessly through the maze for a while before deciding to rest at a dead end around sunset. The moment I sit down, I feel a sharp pain coming from my shoulder and that's when I remember that I was cut in the bloodbath. I pull out one of the first aid kits I picked up and clean the cut and bandaging it up. Hopefully it doesn't get an infection but knowing my luck, it probably will.

I'm repacking my bag when the sky darkens and the Capitol's anthem blares throughout the arena. The cannons sounded a few hours ago, signaling the end of the bloodbath. The bloodbath was really small this year; only three people died in it and a cannon hasn't sounded since. I think the maze is preventing people from encountering each other. I look up at the sky so I can see who died, but instead of the faces, the sky has a message on it:

_The Fallen… and Their Killers. _The message fades away and is replaced by a picture of the District 3 male, Evan, I think. Below his picture is the word: _Suicide. _I'm guessing he is the one who stepped off his plate early. Next is Sebastian's face and the name: _Lacey Lockhart. _

I don't even blink as I gaze up at the sky or when the remaining Careers start screaming for my blood. Instead I just mutter, "I made his death too quick."

The girl from six and the guy from eleven also appear in the sky, but I don't really care. All I can think about is how much fun it will be to kill the Careers, and my plan of course. It really is fool-proof. President Snow couldn't stop it even if he tried, and that's saying something. I mean sure, he could get the Gamemakers to kill me off, but that would make the ratings go down and he wouldn't want that. You can't just kill off a fan favorite; they have to be killed by another tribute.

Well, I might as well start the plan and to do that, I need to find some tributes. _It's official; I'm going tribute hunting tomorrow. Let the games begin, _I think as I climb up onto the thick wall of the maze and fall asleep.

**What is she planning? :O Find out in the next episode of TOTAL. DRAMA. ISLAND… or maybe it's the next chapter of Looks Can Be Deceiving. :)**

** -Insert speech about reviews and unicorn deaths here- Yeah that's right.**

**No reviews= dead unicorns. :(**


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